[7:38] Good evening. This is a special meeting

[7:40] of the board of education being held on

[7:43] Monday, September 28th at 5:07.

[7:50] Um, present tonight we have Mitch

[7:53] Shimblock, board member Mitch Shiml,

[7:56] board member Sean Corpin, board member 8

[7:59] Andrea Aman who's remote. Um, board

[8:02] member Jay Whitlock, he is remote also.

[8:06] Board member Mike Whitney, he is remote.

[8:10] We have board member Johnson, board

[8:12] member Thomas, and board member Jen

[8:16] White.

[8:18] and my south chairperson Beverly

[8:20] Washington.

[8:23] >> I said

[8:26] um the second item on the on the um

[8:29] agenda is discussion with community

[8:32] um in regards to input around board

[8:35] goals and what they think the board's

[8:38] priority should be this year. Um the

[8:41] board goals, if you don't know what the

[8:42] board goals are, the first goal is focus

[8:45] on improving student learning outcomes.

[8:48] The second goal is continue to align our

[8:51] expenditures

[8:53] with district priorities.

[8:55] The third goal is review building

[8:57] capacity based on expected demographic

[9:00] trends. The fourth goal is improve the

[9:03] flow of the board's business. And the

[9:06] fifth goal is why we're here tonight is

[9:08] community engagement.

[9:10] Um, so this is the portion of the agenda

[9:13] and I'm I'm not going to read it all.

[9:14] I'm just going to say it, you know,

[9:17] concisely where you come up to the

[9:18] podium, you state your name and address,

[9:21] you have like three minutes to talk

[9:23] about the board goals or what what you

[9:25] think the district priorities should be.

[9:28] Um, it's not really about any student

[9:30] specifically, but it's more about the

[9:32] board and how you see the school

[9:34] district going forward. Okay.

[9:39] Um, so the first person on the list is

[9:42] Lori.

[9:44] >> Oh, Swansky.

[9:44] >> Swansky. Hi. How you doing?

[9:48] >> Come up to vote.

[9:50] >> Okay. Where? Whereabouts?

[9:51] >> Right up there.

[9:52] >> Okay. Close.

[9:54] >> Well, since this is the first of monthly

[9:56] meetings, I just

[9:57] >> state your name and address.

[9:58] >> My name is Lori Annlonsky. I'm residing

[10:01] temporarily at the Martin House, 401

[10:03] West theme street, 700 Norwich,

[10:06] Connecticut 06360.

[10:09] Now, I've been publicly humiliated and

[10:12] shamed. Um, and I suggest that we all

[10:14] get to the bottom of it and start

[10:16] factchecking because I've lost

[10:17] everything based on lies and a trio of

[10:20] ambush orders that came in based on all

[10:22] lies. and they assailed here uh through

[10:25] Lori Levine and my mentorship to uh

[10:28] strike for the record Ivy Elizabeth

[10:30] Brown who was a sixth grader at the

[10:32] time. Now, I did a great job mentoring

[10:34] her and uh I suggest that we as a board

[10:37] of education with stakeholders in the

[10:40] community, we fact check what happened

[10:42] to me in 2024 and roll it back because I

[10:45] have been the victim of absolute

[10:47] blasphemy. She

[10:48] >> can I just

[10:50] my poor child has

[10:52] >> Can I stop you for a second because this

[10:54] actually has to do with board goals,

[10:56] >> right? This is a board goal.

[10:58] >> Okay. So, we'll go specifically

[11:00] >> trouble for not factchecking and and

[11:02] detaining any of the newspapers and

[11:03] things like that. So, I just wanted to

[11:05] let you know that I'm uh willing to work

[11:07] with you. Um I've been reinstated in my

[11:09] son's life and it seems like each day

[11:12] that I interact with Graten public

[11:13] schools and Graten Middle Schools, we

[11:15] have to start the process all over

[11:17] again. So, I suggest us as a team of

[11:19] stakeholders in the community with the

[11:21] children at is to fact check what

[11:24] happened to Laurian Slinsky November

[11:26] 9th, 1972. and we'll start with that.

[11:28] Thank you.

[11:29] >> Thank you.

[11:33] » What was my date? November 9th. November

[11:36] 9th, 1972. Now, this relates to uh bunk

[11:39] restraining orders that assailed my life

[11:41] and they never stopped based on all

[11:43] lies. Now, I'm a good woman. I I'm I'm a

[11:46] Fetch graduate of 1990, fantastic

[11:48] mother. My records at Rotten Public

[11:50] School are fantastic. I've been shamed

[11:52] and humiliated and literally I'm

[11:54] disabled and uh the United States

[11:57] recognized my disability starting in May

[11:59] of 2024. So mind you, I'm disabled in

[12:03] handling this and have been completely

[12:05] robbed of my parenthood.

[12:07] >> Thank you.

[12:08] >> Okay. Thank you. Next is Laurenia.

[12:13] >> Okay.

[12:20] Next is Kevin Jones.

[12:23] >> Tell me what I have.

[12:24] >> Captain Jones.

[12:25] >> Um, well, I'm not going to read Canon's

[12:28] statement. I think we're probably going

[12:29] to submit that for the record if we can.

[12:32] >> Okay.

[12:33] >> But, um,

[12:36] sorry. My My name is Katie Jones. I live I don't know if it's working.

[12:42] There's not a lot of us. who can

[12:43] probably hear me that voice. I live at

[12:46] 12 Honda Drive in Mystic and um in light

[12:49] of the state of Connecticut's um policy

[12:52] about AI use in the classroom um seeming

[12:56] to give it free reign for lack of a

[12:59] better term. Um, I am curious if the

[13:01] town of Graten Board of Education is

[13:04] going to amend that in any way, tighten

[13:07] those restrictions so we ensure that our

[13:09] kids still continue to develop the

[13:11] critical thinking still skills that they

[13:14] need even in an age of easy access to

[13:17] information. Um, our son is an honor

[13:20] student at at Fitch and um, we're

[13:23] extremely troubled by the prevailance of

[13:26] AI use in the classroom. Um so and you

[13:30] know he's this is his third year and

[13:32] this has been something that has

[13:34] occurred to a degree in each of his

[13:36] years at Fitch and um this is very

[13:39] troubling to us. Thanks. And I'm

[13:41] speaking very exemporaneously right now.

[13:43] So forgive me for that.

[13:46] >> Can I sit back down or do you need me to

[13:47] stay in the hot seat? No. Okay.

[13:50] >> Thank you. Uh next is Kate Shannon.

[13:59] Good evening everyone. My name is Kate

[14:01] Shannon. I live at 8 Orchard Lane and

[14:04] I'm going to take a page out of Kate's

[14:06] book and do the same speak extempor

[14:09] extemporaneously. I um also had concerns

[14:12] about sort of an AI policy that would be

[14:15] districtwide. And I know that um I also

[14:19] have concerns about the YouTube policy

[14:22] because the um Chromebooks that have

[14:24] come home have no limits and we can't

[14:26] seem to place limits on um student use.

[14:30] And apparently, according to our Fitch

[14:33] High School student, he's able to access

[14:35] YouTube um shorts and and

[14:39] non-educational programming on his

[14:42] Chromebook during school, after school,

[14:45] and and despite our best efforts, um he

[14:48] gets around all the limits we put on his

[14:51] devices by just using his Chromebook.

[14:54] So, I thought it'd be great if the

[14:56] district could put or at least allow

[14:59] parents to implement some separate um

[15:02] limits or restrictions on on YouTube. I

[15:04] know that it's used in the classroom for

[15:07] educational purposes by some professors

[15:10] or and but I'm I'm not sure if there's

[15:12] some way we could we could allow parents

[15:15] and a separate um input on that. And

[15:20] that's all I have.

[15:21] >> Okay. Thank you.

[15:22] >> Thank you for your service. Appreciate.

[15:24] >> That's why the central office came in

[15:25] and Dr. Kennedy is here and he's really

[15:28] helped guide us with some of this

[15:29] policy. So, I'm glad he's here to hear

[15:30] you.

[15:32] >> Thank you.

[15:34] >> Next is Vince.

[15:36] >> I was going to support her with whatever

[15:38] she said.

[15:43] » YouTube is ridiculous.

[15:48] » All right. And we have no one online.

[15:55] » Well, we we get to we get go around.

[15:58] >> Well, she didn't speak yet.

[15:59] >> Oh, okay. All right.

[16:06] » Uh, good evening. My name is Lauren

[16:07] Gothier. I live at Fordson Road in

[16:10] Rotten. Um, I have two students in the

[16:13] Garden Public School System right now.

[16:14] One at Fames, one at Mary Morrison. Um

[16:17] right now my primary concern and um as

[16:20] some all be aware I did submit that FOI

[16:23] request regarding um the consent form

[16:27] that was sent home. Um so just to

[16:29] address that I found it was very vague.

[16:32] Um I didn't really understand what was

[16:34] actually going to be implemented into my

[16:36] four-year-old's classroom. Um I did

[16:38] receive the response. I am reviewing it.

[16:40] Um, one thing that stood out was the um,

[16:45] statement about how teachers will take

[16:47] the pictures and then delete them. Um,

[16:50] are they taking pictures on their

[16:51] personal cell phone devices? I I would

[16:55] No. Okay. What What devices are they

[16:57] using to take these pictures? That

[16:59] wasn't really clear at all.

[17:00] >> Sure.

[17:00] >> It's a district iPad.

[17:02] >> There you Okay. So, it's an iPad that

[17:05] then is not connected at all to any

[17:07] external cloud. That's all managed here

[17:09] locally.

[17:10] >> It's managed privately through accounts

[17:12] that we control.

[17:13] >> Okay. Um so that's great to hear. I'll

[17:16] have other questions I'm sure as I

[17:18] continue to review the material

[17:19] provided. Um but specifically, I have

[17:22] friends who are educators in other

[17:23] Connecticut municipalities. What they

[17:25] are seeing happen in their districts um

[17:28] are

[17:29] pretty much surveillance cameras placed

[17:31] in these classrooms. sometimes without

[17:33] um parent consent, sometimes without the

[17:35] teacher really being able to choose

[17:37] whether or not they can use them. And

[17:39] these devices record the entirety of the

[17:41] classroom in the lesson and then use AI

[17:44] to um analyze the performance of the

[17:46] students. Um which I find highly

[17:48] concerning for a number of reasons.

[17:50] There's privacy concerns, there's

[17:51] discrimination concerns, but um largely

[17:54] what what I'm really concerned about is

[17:56] just the increased tech. And um I'm

[17:59] really interested to hear about the

[18:00] Chromebooks that go home. I was not

[18:02] aware that the Chromebooks got sent

[18:03] home. Um, I don't think that that would

[18:05] be something that I would allow in my

[18:07] household and I don't know what the

[18:08] school district would do if I refused to

[18:10] let a Chromebook come home uh for my

[18:13] students. I just think that with

[18:16] everything that tech is nice and it's

[18:18] interesting and I was fortunate enough

[18:21] to be at an age where computers were

[18:23] increasingly used, but they stayed in

[18:24] the classroom or sorry, I should say

[18:26] they stayed in the library lab, right?

[18:28] They weren't in my classroom. and they

[18:29] weren't going home with me and I still

[18:30] had the ability to do pen and paper

[18:32] critical thinking on my own. Um, and I

[18:35] think we do our students a disservice by

[18:37] trying to push more and more tech. And

[18:39] from that consent letter that came home,

[18:41] it sounds like we're pushing tech for an

[18:42] optional program that we don't actually

[18:44] have to participate in. Um, the CT dos

[18:47] thing sounds like a nice idea, right?

[18:49] Analyze the behavior and whatever. Um,

[18:52] it's also more paperwork for this for

[18:54] the teachers to be doing what they're

[18:55] already kind of doing and like naturally

[18:57] instructed to do through their um their

[19:00] professional education. Um, I don't I

[19:04] don't really know what the benefit is.

[19:05] What What is the the district getting by

[19:08] participating in the CT dots program or

[19:10] getting grant money?

[19:12] >> No.

[19:12] >> What are we getting out of it? No, I

[19:15] that was um it's actually an assessment

[19:18] program being used and it's um offered

[19:20] through the state department of

[19:22] Connecticut, office of early childhood

[19:24] and the principal I think reached out

[19:26] and would love to sit down and kind of

[19:27] show you exactly what that does but it's

[19:30] always the information is always shared

[19:31] with parents and it just monitors kids

[19:34] progress and I think the pictures are

[19:36] only to demonstrate that they have built

[19:39] this tower or they have done something

[19:41] so you know they can just jot it down

[19:44] too. If parents don't want their child

[19:46] photographed, that's why we make sure we

[19:48] send it out so they sign. We're very

[19:50] conscious. We had the ribbon cutting

[19:53] today at Mary Morrison. It was

[19:55] wonderful. But I did let the the people

[19:57] who joined us know that they weren't to

[19:59] take any pictures of the kids because

[20:01] everybody's parent has different, you

[20:04] know, concerns about pictures being

[20:06] taken. So, we're we know who those kids

[20:08] are. We make sure that that doesn't

[20:10] happen.

[20:11] >> Sure. I I mean, I'll definitely um

[20:13] entertain a meeting about what we

[20:15] actually benefit from this program,

[20:17] which again sounds like just additional

[20:18] requirements, paperwork requirements,

[20:20] and that's what your consent letter said

[20:21] was we're doing this because of the

[20:23] additional paperwork requirements of

[20:24] this optional program. Um,

[20:27] >> it's required.

[20:28] >> It's a required program.

[20:29] >> It's our required assessment.

[20:31] >> Okay, that's good context.

[20:33] >> Well, we are accredited to, so we're

[20:36] held accountable and to higher standards

[20:38] and that's something we're really proud

[20:40] of. that is just really that those

[20:42] paperwork pieces and those pieces that

[20:44] teachers are implementing are pretty

[20:46] important for the kids and and seeing

[20:48] them grow.

[20:49] >> So if one of these devices were

[20:53] introduced to a classroom, would we have

[20:55] an additional consent form sent or

[20:57] because of the way it's written, it's a

[20:59] very blanket statement. You're not using

[21:01] any of this recording equipment now, but

[21:03] you could and still be uh given consent,

[21:07] right? You're not using it now, but in

[21:08] the future,

[21:08] >> we don't have any videos in the

[21:10] classroom in the hallways and you know,

[21:13] we do have some cameras for security

[21:15] reasons, but um and on our buses, we do

[21:18] >> in 6 months when you decide to adopt

[21:20] this technology or in a a year, I guess,

[21:22] I'd get a new one. My point is, how

[21:25] often are we going to be informed about

[21:26] new technology being placed in our

[21:28] classroom if we've already provided

[21:29] blanket consent for recording?

[21:31] >> Well, that would have to be a board's

[21:33] decision if we ever went there to put

[21:35] cameras in a classroom. because of

[21:38] privacy.

[21:39] >> Women additional form go home.

[21:41] >> Well, I would think so if there were new

[21:42] expectations. Yeah.

[21:44] >> Okay. Thank you.

[21:45] >> Yeah.

[21:46] >> Thank you.

[21:48] All right. We have Monica White. Monica,

[21:51] do you wish to talk?

[21:53] >> Yes, ma'am. If possible, I would

[21:55] appreciate the invitation.

[21:57] >> Yep.

[21:59] >> Well, um, my name is Monica White. I

[22:01] live at 26 Cathedral Heights in Broton.

[22:05] Um, I have a fourth grader and a junior

[22:10] at a lot public schools. Um I have spoke

[22:14] to you guys before in regards to food

[22:17] security. Um and I know that there were

[22:19] brief efforts made by many board members

[22:22] last year to support our friends of

[22:23] program and then also to try to

[22:26] add funds to the budget for this year.

[22:30] Obviously, the budget needed to be cut

[22:32] in um quite a huge way and those funds

[22:37] were unfortunately cut. Um but I just

[22:40] wanted to speak again on opportunities

[22:43] that our board has to support children

[22:47] within our community that may be

[22:48] experiencing food insecurity.

[22:57] Okay.

[22:59] Thank you. Anyone?

[23:00] >> Yeah, sure. Thank you so much.

[23:03] >> You're welcome.

[23:04] Anyone else online that would like to

[23:07] speak?

[23:14] » Okay. I don't see anyone with their hand

[23:17] up. So,

[23:19] >> can the attendees raise their hand?

[23:22] if

[23:24] they like to speak?

[23:29] » They have that ability. Yes, they click

[23:32] on it.

[23:35] >> And we don't see anyone.

[23:36] >> Okay.

[23:38] All right.

[23:40] Um

[23:42] I don't know if we should wait till 6

[23:43] cuz the meeting's posted from 5 to 6.

[23:46] >> Yeah, we should wait till 6.

[23:47] >> Okay. Is that the wish of the board to

[23:49] wait till 6?

[23:51] supposed to tell

[23:51] >> we have to we have it we have to be here

[23:54] anyway so it doesn't really matter

[23:57] >> can we put it on mute since no one's

[23:59] speaking

[24:06] » I do want to say for the people that are

[24:08] here thank you for coming this is our

[24:10] first goround at community engagement so

[24:13] I really appreciate you coming out

[24:15] tonight

[24:15] >> I recognize you from my childhood you

[24:17] were friends with my mother

[24:19] >> yes I was

[24:21] Thank you.

[24:22] >> You're welcome.

[24:22] >> Is this a monthly um opportunity to come

[24:26] to the board meetings or is this just a

[24:28] one time?

[24:28] >> No, every month you can come to the

[24:30] board meeting. The last Monday of the

[24:32] month we have um public comments.

[24:35] >> Okay.

[24:35] >> And you're free to come and speak to the

[24:37] board. This was really a community

[24:39] engagement. Um I was looking more for

[24:42] like what what do you think the board

[24:45] what what should what do you think the

[24:46] priorities of the board should be this

[24:48] year? what should the board be focused

[24:50] on? So, one thing was AI. You're very

[24:52] interested in AI and um watching those

[24:56] Chromebooks, make sure those Chromebooks

[24:57] are safe, that the students are only

[25:00] seeing what they should see on those

[25:02] Chromebooks. So, but that's what it was

[25:05] really about. But every month, the last

[25:07] meeting of the month, the fourth Monday

[25:08] of the month, you can come out and speak

[25:10] to the board of ed. It's like the third

[25:12] thing or the second, probably the third

[25:14] thing on the agenda, public comments.

[25:17] >> Well, thank you. I that we I saw the

[25:19] parent square announcement and that's

[25:21] what lit a fire under like oh I got an

[25:24] invite.

[25:26] >> So that was really helpful.

[25:27] >> They want to hear from me.

[25:30] >> Is it you mentioned there's another

[25:32] meeting at the end of the month in

[25:33] addition to these monthly what which day

[25:35] of the the month is that?

[25:37] >> It's the last Monday of the month.

[25:39] >> Last Monday of the month also an open

[25:40] forum setting. Well, it's public

[25:42] comments, so you can come and talk

[25:46] during public comments.

[25:48] >> So that's tonight at 6.

[25:50] >> Oh, tonight.

[25:50] >> Yeah, tonight too.

[25:55] » Really?

[25:55] >> Yes.

[25:57] >> Did you want to adjourn? Do you want me

[25:58] to stop recording?

[26:00] >> Uh, no. No.

[26:03] >> No. Because the meeting's posted till 6.

[26:07] >> So maybe somebody's late getting on.

[26:12] Okay. Okay.

[26:12] >> I'll just stop in between the meetings.

[26:14] >> Yeah.

[26:15] >> A separate recording.

[26:16] >> Okay.

[26:18] >> Are these publicized on a onetic

[26:21] broadcasting?

[26:22] >> Oh, no.

[26:24] >> Okay.

[26:26] Wonderful.

[26:27] >> Yeah. Grand public schools has a YouTube

[26:28] channel.

[26:30] >> Grand public schools on YouTube.

[26:32] >> Okay.

[26:33] >> Yeah. The meetings are usually posted

[26:34] the day after. So,

[26:39] » [clears throat]

[26:42] » com. We're having dialogue. Do you want

[26:44] me up there and we just have dialogue?

[26:46] >> The microphones.

[26:49] >> I got to see it. Go ahead.

[26:52] >> We're always recording.

[26:54] >> Um

[26:56] I did for fair comments just for AI, but

[26:58] uh interested also in the food and

[27:01] security comment that was brought up. Um

[27:03] I understand with the minimum budget

[27:04] requirement that's a real constraint

[27:06] being able to just add funding and

[27:07] especially with something that can

[27:09] fluctuate so much with students not

[27:10] being able to pay. Um you know I think

[27:13] it's noticeable that not all schools in

[27:15] the district um especially the

[27:16] elementary schools are receiving the

[27:18] free lunches. Um which is strange given

[27:21] that they're intramagnet. So are the

[27:23] school bodies really representative of

[27:25] what the whole districts are that the

[27:28] demographics that base the grant on?

[27:30] Anyways, um I would just like to put

[27:31] forward an idea to the board when you go

[27:33] to advocate for your budget this year.

[27:35] Instead of trying to put it into the

[27:36] board budget, I think that the town

[27:37] council should actually appropriate

[27:39] something out of the general fund. Um

[27:41] they have that ability and I know for a

[27:44] fact that we have plenty of money over

[27:46] 20% of our general uh our unreserved or

[27:50] unassigned fund balance, right?

[27:52] Unassigned fund balance, the rainy day

[27:53] fund. We have over 20% that is sitting

[27:55] there. Um I think it's actually quite

[27:57] higher, maybe 25. I haven't looked at

[27:59] the numbers recently, but that's

[28:01] definitely a a very good use of that

[28:03] money is to create a fund uh for the

[28:06] schools to draw out of for students that

[28:07] can't and then that protects your

[28:08] minimum budget requirement as well. So,

[28:10] I just wanted to put that idea for

[28:12] >> Thank you, Laura.

[28:13] >> Yeah.

[28:21] » Did you have something you wanted to

[28:23] respond to? I just wanted to respond to

[28:26] um

[28:27] >> Miss Kafia.

[28:28] >> Yes, thank you. I apologize for the

[28:30] phone.

[28:31] >> Going back to the recordings in the

[28:34] classroom. So, when you register your

[28:36] students, um one of the pieces on the

[28:39] registration form asks specifically

[28:41] about social media, photographs,

[28:43] anything like that, classroom videos,

[28:45] and you can opt out of that.

[28:47] >> And then there's also every year there's

[28:49] the contact update form. And when you do

[28:51] that you if you let's say chose one year

[28:53] yes I want to and decided otherwise you

[28:56] can always opt out of that. So I just

[28:58] wanted to make you aware I wasn't sure

[28:59] if you knew that. So what you were

[29:01] saying is that you do not give

[29:03] permission to have photographs taken

[29:05] within the classroom videos anything

[29:07] like that. So in that particular what

[29:10] you were asking about the blanket

[29:11] statement you were by having that

[29:13] contact uh update page updated to

[29:18] reflect your agreement that would cover

[29:21] you there.

[29:22] >> So those form sent home was definitive.

[29:25] >> Well no I think that was specific to

[29:26] that. So if you were to sign off on that

[29:28] and for that particular assessment that

[29:30] would cover that but as a general rule

[29:33] of thumb we would not take photographs

[29:36] in a classroom or share photographs of

[29:38] you include you in social media or your

[29:40] children. So I just wanted to let you I

[29:42] wasn't sure if you're aware of that.

[29:43] >> No I think and she also handles our

[29:46] impact aid and free and helps with free

[29:48] and reduced lunch. So we do we have four

[29:50] title schools. I don't know if this

[29:52] helps, but they they really make the

[29:54] margin for the free and reduced lunch.

[29:56] And we do this every year in checking.

[29:59] So those four schools, CK, Mystic River,

[30:03] Ames River, and um the middle school,

[30:06] Brton Middle School, um really get some

[30:08] additional funding from the state to

[30:11] help provide for tutors and other, you

[30:13] know, staff members. And um I just think

[30:16] it's important that they also are the

[30:18] schools that have the C or the community

[30:22] eligibility program because of their

[30:23] numbers. Unfortunately, Charles Barnum

[30:26] because kids don't get SNAP benefits and

[30:28] they have Triricare instead of Husky.

[30:32] There's no way that they would be and

[30:33] that's that's a problem we brought to

[30:35] the state. I brought to Congressman

[30:37] Courtney. It's a huge problem because

[30:39] they they and then Northeast Academy

[30:41] because

[30:42] >> profile

[30:43] >> because of the um you know their free

[30:47] their pre numbers are actually more in

[30:50] line with the rest now that we have in

[30:52] district magnets but they're still not

[30:54] there. And then the high school we had

[30:56] them for a year but then numbers kind of

[30:58] varied and so we weren't able to

[31:00] continue it.

[31:02] >> But to also address the question you had

[31:04] about how the the um lunch status is

[31:08] contributed how the schools are chosen.

[31:09] It's not by the home district in school,

[31:11] it's where the children go to school.

[31:13] So, we take a snapshot twice a year that

[31:15] really looks at um and then we collect

[31:18] uh free and reduced applications

[31:20] throughout the year. And so, it's based

[31:22] specifically on the students in that

[31:23] particular building, not in that

[31:25] particular attendance zone. So,

[31:30] >> one more thing.

[31:33] >> All right. Vincy 8 Orchard Lane. I have

[31:37] a sophomore in Twitch. Uh you guys

[31:40] support the AI policy. You need to

[31:42] definitely take a look at that. But also

[31:43] the YouTube on the uh computers that go

[31:46] home. But in addition, uh the IV

[31:49] program, I kind of question what the

[31:51] value of that is at our at this

[31:53] district. Uh I've been learning a lot

[31:56] about it as you know the next year he

[31:58] has to get involved in different

[31:59] programs, but it seems like there's very

[32:01] few people involved in IB. I don't know

[32:04] the cost the district to manage this

[32:06] program, but we'd like to know what the

[32:08] benefit of that is and why we continue

[32:10] to push this. So that would be question

[32:13] for me as a board to maybe take that

[32:15] upon yourselves to figure out why we

[32:17] don't vote with IB and what the value of

[32:20] it is.

[32:25] You want to address that

[32:27] pro I

[32:29] since he's sitting over there right now.

[32:33] >> Well, we can discuss what's happen.

[32:38] You could discuss the value if you want

[32:40] to. Whatever you want to say, but I

[32:42] >> Well, actually, I'm glad that you asked

[32:44] that question. We are going to um do a

[32:47] um I have a report on just that coming

[32:50] up with the curriculum committee which

[32:52] is going to be held I believe on October

[32:54] 9th. So Mr. Thomas asked those that

[32:57] exact same question. Um I'll be giving a

[33:00] report on the enrollment, the benefits

[33:03] of IB, how much it costs, um some of the

[33:07] exact same questions. Um that report is

[33:10] again will be given on the 9th. I just

[33:12] sent a draft over to um the high school

[33:15] team to review and um

[33:20] many people have some of the same

[33:21] questions that you shared

[33:23] >> and you could watch the meeting live on

[33:25] October 9th. Just go type in um go to

[33:29] YouTube, type in No, you have to go to

[33:31] YouTube or you go to the

[33:32] >> It's actually

[33:34] the website

[33:35] >> if you go to calendar. Yeah, that the

[33:37] Zoom will be posted.

[33:38] >> Yeah. Thank you.

[33:40] publish afterwards. You might want to

[33:43] live. You can watch it afterwards.

[33:45] >> 24 hours. Go

[33:46] >> ahead. Meeting on the 7th.

[33:48] >> Yeah, that's what I thought.

[33:49] >> I'm sorry. It is the seventh.

[33:53] >> So, it's Wednesday, October 7th at 6 at

[33:57] 6:00.

[34:01] » And that that meeting is um

[34:05] uh not here. It's

[34:08] >> no. Thank you on my head.

[34:12] >> I do want to take a shout out for Dr.

[34:14] Ann Marie Mancini. She makes a great

[34:16] partner and she came from Craig School

[34:18] District where there's a lot of magnet

[34:20] programs in East Hartford and they have

[34:22] quite a marvelous IB program, IB school.

[34:25] It's number one always in the state. It

[34:29] beats New Keenan where I came from. So,

[34:32] you know, so there are schools that

[34:33] have, you know, that have other very few

[34:37] in in the state, but the ones that are, you know, really doing well. So,

[34:44] and if you can't watch it, it's

[34:45] recorded. So, if you can't watch it on

[34:47] the 7th, you can watch it on another day

[34:51] and hopefully your questions will be

[34:52] answered. I definitely pay attention to

[34:54] that one. Okay.

[35:10] I'm asking you so I don't have to go.

[35:14] » Uh I don't know exactly

[35:21] answer

[35:26] right now.

[35:29] college experience program

[35:38] » I don't know

[35:42] » doesn't

[35:47] actually

[35:52] diploma

[35:54] >> no the IB classes and What Fitch is

[35:57] doing that I think is pretty spectacular

[35:59] is whether it's AP or IB, we're linking

[36:01] Yukon credit. There's an anchor program

[36:03] actually in the STEM fields that I'm on

[36:05] the board at. And so we're really

[36:07] linking those Yukon credits as well. So

[36:09] a child could be an AP, take the test

[36:12] and get the credit or they could link

[36:15] with and it's linked with Yukon so they

[36:17] can get credit at Yukon and I we're

[36:19] trying to do the very same thing. So

[36:21] trying to have kids all be able to

[36:23] access early college experiences.

[36:26] >> So I have a question then regarding

[36:28] that. So when you say AP, if a child is

[36:31] taking AP courses

[36:34] and they, you know, complete the course

[36:37] and they get a passing grade on the AP

[36:39] exam, that gives them college credit.

[36:42] >> To what college?

[36:43] >> It depends on what college.

[36:45] >> Depends on what college they go to.

[36:47] >> So you know our our kid is you know, he

[36:51] has AP classes, but he also is doing the

[36:53] ECE.

[36:55] Um, so those are credits through the

[36:58] colleges that are are participating.

[37:00] >> Oh, and the EC will actually give your

[37:04] student a GPA at that college.

[37:06] >> At that college

[37:07] >> and that's transferable coach.

[37:09] >> Yeah. Okay.

[37:10] >> And the APs are whether it depends on

[37:12] the college. So, four or five, whatever

[37:14] it is, some colleges will take it and

[37:17] count it towards credit, some don't.

[37:18] >> I see. So if you know you get a three or

[37:21] above or whatever the passing is for you

[37:23] know history or whatever and count as

[37:26] >> okay so you can like it's like testing

[37:28] out of those required classes for

[37:31] example

[37:33] but the ECE are literal college credit

[37:39] » yeah I did that

[37:41] >> so I can only speak from my son's

[37:43] experience he attended Fitch graduate of

[37:46] um 2024 before. So, um, he did not do

[37:51] the full IB program, right? Because he's

[37:54] like, um, but he did a combination of IB

[37:57] and AP, right? Not all of the credits,

[38:01] whether you get a three, four, or five,

[38:03] right? And sometimes even if you get

[38:04] five, which is the highest number,

[38:07] sometimes the college doesn't take it.

[38:09] Um, most of the I IV colleges probably

[38:13] won't take it, right, because they're

[38:15] IV, you know, Ivy League. Um, but most

[38:18] of the colleges do take it. So I, like I

[38:21] said, I'm speaking on my son's

[38:23] experience. Um, graduating from Fitch,

[38:25] he had like eight classes transfer over.

[38:28] So basically, he walked in as a second

[38:31] semester freshman, and he could have

[38:34] graduated

[38:35] um like his junior year, which would

[38:38] really be his senior year. he opted not

[38:40] to do that and he took additional

[38:42] classes which would give him um in like

[38:46] couple years like two degrees he's going

[38:48] to get a bachelor's of science and a

[38:50] bachelor of arts. So, it just all

[38:52] depends on the college that your child

[38:55] is going to. Um, like I said, most of

[38:58] the higher league um Ivy League colleges

[39:01] pro universities, they have like

[39:04] stricter standards. We all know that,

[39:05] right? But um most of the um other

[39:09] colleges and universities around um and

[39:12] like I said I'm speaking for him and

[39:14] then like what I saw his friends

[39:16] experience um that some of the credits

[39:20] transferred over especially the ones um

[39:23] the CEC ones cuz those are tied to

[39:26] Yukon. And so in his case, he took like

[39:28] the Yukon English. And so basically it

[39:32] alleviated him from taking the college

[39:35] or university's English requirements

[39:37] because he already performed Yukon

[39:39] English requirements that fit. Um so

[39:43] that's the experience we face, you know.

[39:46] Um so um maybe um we bring some of those

[39:51] students back, you know, whether they

[39:53] did the full IB program, AP program,

[39:56] combination of both and um share it with

[39:59] the parents rather than just the

[40:00] students because sometimes um you know

[40:03] maybe like the information doesn't get

[40:05] shared along. It looks like there's some

[40:08] nodding there. Um maybe that's something

[40:12] as we get more engaging community you

[40:15] know community engagement right like I

[40:17] said I'm just doing it from my son's

[40:19] perspective. There's a lot of other

[40:20] parents in this room um whose kids also

[40:24] they either took it or they didn't. Um

[40:27] and um and every parent should with

[40:31] their child should be able to make that

[40:33] decision whether they want them to um

[40:36] enroll in any one of those programs and

[40:39] how maybe just the curriculum in general

[40:41] at the Grten district. how like there's

[40:45] the college level classes, the advanced

[40:47] placement, IB program, you know, um and

[40:50] maybe we go through that and um the

[40:53] career paths, you know, there's a lot of

[40:55] things going on and I can be honest when

[40:58] my son was a freshman all those years

[41:00] ago um not really fully grasping like

[41:04] all of the choices. So, thank you.

[41:07] >> You're welcome.

[41:18] go back up to the microphone. I have one

[41:20] more.

[41:20] >> The chair is in charge. I'm sure she

[41:23] may.

[41:24] >> You're part of the community.

[41:31] » Um Kate Shannon again, 8 Orchard Lane. I

[41:34] had one other thought. Well, since we're

[41:35] here, um my when my son was in uh middle

[41:39] school, I was uh concerned about the the

[41:42] block scheduling for that age group. Um

[41:46] I think in high school, it makes a lot

[41:48] more sense, especially for the lab and

[41:50] science um uh classes. But for the

[41:54] middle school, I found that it was

[41:56] challenging for students and faculty to

[42:00] focus for 80 minutes or however long

[42:03] they needed. and a lot of um of work

[42:06] might there might have been extra a lot

[42:09] of downtime. So, I'm I'm curious if if

[42:11] the board has considered going back to

[42:15] um shorter class periods and possibly a

[42:19] daily program sort of more aligned with

[42:24] what I've experienced as as a a middle

[42:27] schooler. I I don't know if the high

[42:29] school necessarily needs to be on the

[42:31] same schedule as the middle school, but

[42:33] um just throwing it out as a as an

[42:35] option. I I was I think a local um

[42:39] school district. I can't remember which

[42:41] one did go back to I think it was

[42:43] 40-minute classes. So, I'm not sure if that makes sense um or it's it's not

[42:49] something that is feasible at this

[42:51] point, especially given the IB program,

[42:53] but just a thought.

[42:55] >> Thank you.

[42:56] We have had a um a steering committee

[42:59] that's been looking at the schedule and

[43:01] they've worked very hard again under Dr.

[43:04] Mancini's leadership and it will be

[43:06] continuing this year. We also have an ad

[43:09] hoc committee that the board has taken

[43:11] on and Adrian is chairing that looking

[43:14] at our long-term planning um which is

[43:17] looking at Grant Middle School first and

[43:19] the space because the space and the

[43:21] number of teachers that we have um you

[43:24] really has um kept that schedule rolling

[43:27] the way it is. Um otherwise we need more

[43:31] space and more teachers. But we are

[43:34] looking both ways. We're still working

[43:35] on the scheduling. We're looking at the

[43:37] long-term planning. We're setting up a

[43:38] meeting coming soon in October and we'll

[43:41] probably be right there at Graten Middle

[43:42] School so we can kind of take a walk

[43:44] around and board members can kind of see

[43:46] it for real. So, we know what you're

[43:48] talking about.

[43:49] >> So, the logistics Yeah, I didn't think

[43:51] about that, but thank you.

[43:52] >> Yeah,

[43:52] >> I'm glad you're looking to

[43:57] » Yeah. Can I say something?

[43:59] >> Yeah. So, my understanding is that the

[44:01] building was built for those schedules

[44:03] and the cafeteria is just not large

[44:06] enough to accommodate. Um, so I think

[44:10] that going back to that traditional

[44:11] schedule, I don't know why um it was

[44:14] built for that, but or when that

[44:16] decision was made, but I think the

[44:18] building's basically just not big enough

[44:20] is my understanding. So, I think we're

[44:22] talking about when they're talking about

[44:23] amending the schedule, it's um it's just

[44:26] trying to we're not going to get rid of

[44:28] blocks. below. Right. Right.

[44:31] >> Well, I I don't know. Amy's still

[44:33] working on it and we're we never say

[44:35] never, you know, we were always looking

[44:36] for a way to identify the problem and

[44:38] try to solve it. We worked on this all

[44:41] last year. I want to say we worked a

[44:44] good nine or 10 months on it because um

[44:48] our staff had some of the same have some

[44:51] of the same concerns as you. They'd like

[44:52] to see the students every day rather

[44:54] than right now every other day. they

[44:56] just feel like that regular consistency

[44:58] is something that um would be more

[45:01] beneficial for middle school students. I

[45:03] agree. Um but the constraints of the

[45:06] building is really we looked probably at

[45:10] 14 to 15 maybe even more middle school

[45:14] schedules um from places locally to

[45:17] around the state even um schedule

[45:20] examples from other districts outside

[45:23] the state of Connecticut and couldn't

[45:25] find one that would work um coming down

[45:28] really based on lunch or sometimes it

[45:31] was other space constraints. So, we we

[45:35] are continuing to work on it and

[45:37] hopefully we'll be able to find

[45:38] something, but right now some of the

[45:41] space constraints are really the thing

[45:43] that's preventing us from making the

[45:45] shift.

[45:46] >> So, the idea that the size of your

[45:48] cafeteria constrains you to a certain

[45:50] scheduling regime for school is bonkers.

[45:52] But,

[45:54] >> it's frustrating as you might imagine.

[45:57] Can I clarify? When you said um that the

[46:01] building was built for that schedule, do

[46:03] you mean it was built for the the long

[46:05] block, the block schedule?

[46:07] >> That's my understanding. I mean,

[46:10] >> I helped with the beginning of

[46:11] scheduling and we tried multiple types

[46:14] of schedules. There were certain things

[46:16] that they wanted. They wanted team time.

[46:19] So, that was really important to the

[46:20] core teachers to keep team. Um and so

[46:23] you add that they wanted a advisory

[46:25] period in the beginning of the day. So

[46:27] all the things that they wanted we tried

[46:29] to keep in the schedule. We had power

[46:31] school superheroes coming in to help us.

[46:35] And they basically were saying this is

[46:37] really hard to do. And we used to have

[46:40] an additional team because we had two

[46:42] teams at every grade level at Cutler and

[46:45] we had two teams at every level and at

[46:48] Westside and we did reduce teams. There

[46:50] were some efficiencies. So, we reduce

[46:52] teachers, but I can remember going to

[46:54] Dr. Grineer right away and saying, you

[46:56] know, we still need another STEM

[46:57] teacher. We still need another ELA

[46:59] teacher. We have too many kids and we

[47:00] can't go over this 23 to 24 number. We

[47:05] were filling up those classes. So, I was

[47:07] boots on the ground in the beginning.

[47:09] So, I know how hard it was to schedule,

[47:12] but I don't know that we're there yet.

[47:14] But I I feel like we can try to be

[47:16] hopeful and see what we can do between

[47:18] the ad hoc committee and and also, you

[47:20] know, just continuing to see what other

[47:23] possibilities there could be.

[47:25] >> But when you built the school, I think

[47:27] that's the question. Was the school

[47:28] built for block scheduling? Did you take

[47:31] other scheduling in consideration

[47:33] >> or did you say, "Okay, we're building

[47:35] this school and we're having block

[47:36] scheduling."

[47:37] >> No, the school was built to have 100%

[47:40] occupied 100% of the time. So there were

[47:43] constraints with the size of the school.

[47:46] There was an audit, there was a cafety,

[47:52] not two. And you know the the numbers at

[47:55] the middle school are very similar to

[47:57] the high school and it's a smaller

[47:59] building. So I think it was who was in

[48:02] charge of um school um construction at

[48:06] the time was no longer here and what his

[48:09] expectations were. And um so it really

[48:12] it it really prevented us from doing

[48:15] what we really had envisioned doing. But

[48:19] >> I think the long and the short of it is

[48:21] the school was built too small.

[48:22] >> It was built too small.

[48:23] >> That's the long and short.

[48:24] >> When did the portals come back?

[48:26] >> Well, that's what they were saying in

[48:27] the beginning.

[48:28] >> Yeah.

[48:32] » Well, I'm gl I'm very happy to hear the

[48:34] board is looking at it and because

[48:37] ultimately that the academics is what

[48:39] should everywhere.

[48:42] >> And we hear your concern. What Jen and I

[48:44] did when we toured GR Middle School, the

[48:46] teachers were saying the same thing that

[48:49] 90 minutes is far too long for middle

[48:51] school students. Same thing they're

[48:53] saying, they don't focus. Too much down

[48:55] time.

[48:56] >> It's a it's a big expectation for that

[48:58] age group.

[48:59] >> Yeah. Inconsistency like Dr. Mancini

[49:03] said.

[49:07] I've been in schools in New Kanan where

[49:09] we had a 58 school and we did a 56

[49:13] program and then we did a 78 very

[49:15] different. So you can there also are

[49:18] opportunities in some cases where you

[49:20] can schedule differently for the

[49:21] different ages. So

[49:25] >> yeah, I just want to circle back to the

[49:27] AI concerns real quick. Um Katie and and Ken, you you all mentioned um you

[49:34] know some concerns with like how AI is

[49:36] being used in the classroom. Um do you

[49:39] have any sort of example or

[49:41] >> Absolutely.

[49:42] >> There's there's a teacher that was

[49:46] >> Can you do me a favor? Can you come to

[49:47] the podium?

[49:48] >> Oh god.

[49:52] There's a teacher that's that's using it

[49:54] to generate u lesson plans

[49:57] >> or lessons. Um there's a teacher that

[50:00] was using it to correct um uh essays uh

[50:04] things things like that. Um I feel

[50:08] in some place where you're teaching

[50:10] people to think, you don't want to use a

[50:12] tool that purports to think for you. And

[50:14] I just kind of

[50:15] >> Yeah. So yeah, we have examples.

[50:18] concern.

[50:18] >> I will add to that because this is a

[50:21] real be in my bonnet and Ian, I think I

[50:23] spoke with you last year. I may have

[50:25] even sent you a copy. An honors English

[50:28] instructor was gave my honors English

[50:32] student a sheet of paper that said,

[50:35] "These are ways that you can help AI

[50:38] sharpen your writing." Okay. As a former

[50:41] high school English teacher, as a

[50:42] published writer myself, I was

[50:44] absolutely horrified by that. The only

[50:47] thing our children have that is their

[50:49] very own is their voice. That's the only

[50:52] thing that is truly theirs.

[50:54] And we need to teach these kids how to

[50:57] use that voice and how to use that voice

[50:58] on paper.

[51:00] And it has AI as far as I'm concerned

[51:03] has absolutely no place in an English

[51:07] writing in a classroom.

[51:10] Um

[51:12] I I don't want to get anyone in trouble

[51:15] so to say so to speak but you know there

[51:18] are instructors currently Austin has who

[51:22] um are not actively engaging in the

[51:25] class and an incredibly small class like

[51:29] four students in this class and this

[51:33] person's lesson plans are AI generated

[51:37] and oftent times this teacher according

[51:39] to her on say, "Oh, wait, wait, no. This

[51:41] is incorrect. Let me let me take that

[51:43] pack. Let me give it to you. This is an

[51:46] AP

[51:47] science class and that's happening."

[51:50] That that is unconscionable as far as

[51:53] I'm concerned.

[51:55] AP class or not, any level class. Um I

[51:59] Yeah, I could go on. I will.

[52:02] >> Have you had a chance to talk to the

[52:03] administration because I know they would

[52:05] be very interested in what you have to

[52:07] say.

[52:07] >> Um I have

[52:10] Go ahead, Ian.

[52:12] >> Who can take care of it? Ian.

[52:14] >> Um, so we do have an AI uh committee.

[52:17] >> Yes.

[52:18] >> That uh it's ongoing. Uh Dr. Kennedy's

[52:21] in charge of that. Um and so it's

[52:24] supposed to be like this this

[52:26] like rolling revision of like how we

[52:29] handle AI in the school. So I would I

[52:32] would hope that that the committee would

[52:33] hear these these concerns and

[52:36] >> I would hope that the board would get

[52:37] could get invited into the discussion as

[52:40] far as uh putting some more firm

[52:43] parameters and uh one of my major

[52:44] concerns with AI also is the data where

[52:47] the data

[52:48] >> uh one of the comments I made about a

[52:50] year a year or two ago was was you know

[52:53] AI takes more than it gives that's the model that's how they can

[52:57] provide at such a low cost or no cost is

[53:00] They're taking something from you.

[53:01] >> You are the problem.

[53:03] >> Exactly.

[53:03] >> So that is a problem. We need to get a

[53:07] handle on that. And personally, I would

[53:08] glad I be I'd be glad to see AI

[53:12] excluded from the education environment.

[53:14] >> Um back

[53:15] >> read the little essay that I

[53:18] >> Yeah. Yeah.

[53:19] >> So, uh back to your question, Sue. I

[53:22] have not. Um I did however speak to the

[53:26] English instructor last year. Um luckily

[53:29] the instructor this year seems to have a

[53:32] completely opposite view and I was so

[53:34] grateful. Um, you know, considering that

[53:38] this is a Yukon, you know, academic

[53:40] course and AI. Yeah, it is my own

[53:43] personal bugaboo. Let's just say that.

[53:45] >> Well, I can understand. And Amy

[53:47] McKenna's assistant principal was the

[53:49] chair of the department in English and

[53:51] she would be very interested. So, I

[53:53] definitely will share her concerns. And

[53:55] I did cons I share the concern I may

[53:57] have sounded this already with the

[53:58] English instructor from last year. Okay.

[54:00] >> And I said look this is how you

[54:05] >> um I suggest everyone in this book in

[54:07] this room if you have a moment if you're

[54:09] readers there's a wonderful book and the

[54:12] author's name is is escaping me at the

[54:14] moment but the book is called H E

[54:20] » and it is about AI. was about a woman

[54:22] who trains AI, trains the AI so well

[54:25] that she train that she trains herself

[54:27] right out of the job, but it continues

[54:31] to address a lot of these issues.

[54:36] >> Appreciate that.

[54:36] >> The talk is over now.

[54:38] >> Thank you. Thank you. There's a person

[54:40] online. I can't see your name. I

[54:43] apologize.

[54:44] >> You could see there's Monica White. I

[54:46] saw her name, but the other person

[54:48] grieel

[54:54] uh 1155 River Road.

[54:56] >> Um what I wanted to comment was on the

[55:00] calendar at the beginning of the year.

[55:02] Um I'm a 20-year educator and I have not

[55:05] experienced the year in my teaching

[55:08] career where it was five days in a row

[55:10] of class. Um I think the ramp up where

[55:13] you have a shorter week and Labor Day

[55:15] week um is smoother for both the uh

[55:19] instructors and the students. Um we also

[55:22] at the high school had open house night

[55:25] on the Thursday the first week of school

[55:27] and might bless those teachers that came

[55:29] in um and stayed till 8:00 at night that

[55:31] were kind of stammering over their words

[55:33] because they were just so tired. Um

[55:35] thank you. I really appreciated it as a

[55:37] parent, but I just um I don't think that

[55:39] was a successful start to the year. And

[55:41] that's my my comment.

[55:43] >> Thank you.

[55:47] » Monica, did you have your hand up again?

[55:51] >> Yes, ma'am. I did. Um I was going to

[55:54] comment on the AI being used by

[55:56] teachers. Uh unfortunately, when it was

[55:59] presented, I was more thinking that

[56:01] children were using it. Um, but I have

[56:04] had multiple instances already this year

[56:06] where my child has said that their

[56:08] teachers lesson plans were AI generated

[56:11] and she's even provided me this print

[56:13] out that says created with da da da um

[56:18] whatever AI unit that they have used.

[56:21] So, um, my child is a AP history course,

[56:25] um, and she is also having a teacher

[56:27] that is using AI to generate their

[56:29] lesson plans and the presentations that

[56:31] the students are seeing and receiving.

[56:36] >> Thank you, Monica.

[56:55] have to go up to the

[56:56] >> Can you do mine?

[57:01] » You get your steps in that way too,

[57:02] Lauren.

[57:03] >> Sure.

[57:04] >> Um, so I was going to stay for the next

[57:06] portion because I thought that it would

[57:08] be constrained to that agenda item, but

[57:09] maybe I can bring it up now. Parent

[57:11] engagement. I see that that's on your

[57:12] agenda for your six o'clock meeting in

[57:14] the polic. um I read it. I would have a

[57:18] concern that it doesn't um really speak

[57:21] sufficiently in my opinion to uh parent

[57:23] engagement in the classrooms. Um the

[57:26] concern I've had for the past couple of

[57:27] years at Themes River is that we are not

[57:29] invited to our students celebrations. Um

[57:32] my kid will come home with an award and

[57:33] I will not even know that he was being

[57:35] offered an award. Um our only

[57:37] opportunity really to have classroom

[57:39] participation is on field trips and

[57:40] oftent times they can only take one or

[57:42] two parents and so it's very

[57:43] constrained. Um, so if you're going to

[57:46] have a parent engagement policy, I'd

[57:47] like to see it actually expand into

[57:49] daytime hours, too. The way it reads, I

[57:51] would assume that it's only for parent

[57:53] engagement in the evenings. Um, and my

[57:55] personal feelings is that all of the

[57:57] evening events suck. Um, they are not

[57:59] really engaging. Uh, my student has no

[58:02] care for them because the very chaotic

[58:04] environment. Um, I'd much prefer more

[58:07] opportunities to have engagement with my

[58:08] teacher in a personal setting as opposed

[58:10] to just like the little app messages.

[58:13] um and to actually have like activities

[58:15] to do with my son to enrich his

[58:17] educational experience. And of course,

[58:19] if there's singalongs, I want to go and

[58:21] I want to see him present on the state

[58:23] of Texas and sing a little song for

[58:25] Veterans Day. And um I understand that

[58:27] there's a lot of times capacity concerns

[58:29] with having parents come in or security

[58:31] concerns, but um just something to keep

[58:32] in mind is that we're not invited into

[58:34] our children's classrooms anymore. And I

[58:36] feel like that that's a real detriment

[58:37] to everyone.

[58:38] >> Thank you.

[58:46] Hi uh Porsche Boran. Um my big thing is

[58:50] talking about achievement gaps as

[58:51] always. Um our district every every

[58:54] district was you know hit by COVID but

[58:56] before COVID we can only hide behind

[58:57] that for so long. Achievement gaps

[58:59] weren't that great uh being closed

[59:01] before that. Um, but funding time and

[59:03] time again are going in the upper level

[59:05] things like the IB program and other

[59:07] programs such as that only service a

[59:09] small number of students, which is a

[59:11] great thing to have, but then when I

[59:13] hear students aren't getting the

[59:14] services they need. Let me give you some

[59:15] examples of those concerns. And these

[59:17] were concerns. I'm a mother. I'm a fifth

[59:19] high school graduate, mother of two kids

[59:20] that have graduated 21 and 24. For full

[59:23] disclosure, both boys, one had an IEP,

[59:25] one had a 504. So I know the depths of

[59:27] from the average student to a student in

[59:29] the college prep level to looking at

[59:32] some of the other deficiencies and where

[59:34] things fall. So I speak with both of

[59:36] those hats. Um and my concerns are um

[59:40] some of the achievement gaps. Graten

[59:41] public schools will say from the special

[59:43] ed responses um well your child is not

[59:47] meeting grade level. This is in the

[59:49] elementary years. Um but you they don't

[59:51] meet it. they're not behind enough that

[59:53] they um in our town qualify for

[59:56] services. So define that. So I used to

[59:59] say to them, if I took my kids to East

[1:00:01] Lime, they would be the top of the list.

[1:00:04] But here, if there's a higher need for

[1:00:06] services, there are kids that need

[1:00:08] intervention that aren't getting it

[1:00:10] because that threshold or that number

[1:00:12] that the town feels that they can meet

[1:00:14] is like only at a certain level. So

[1:00:16] they'll be getting like the surface

[1:00:17] level stuff and little breakout groups,

[1:00:19] but they're not qualifying for services

[1:00:21] like uh referring out if they're having

[1:00:24] OT occupational issues. Um so I just

[1:00:26] want to look at that like as a whole

[1:00:28] that there are kids that are needing

[1:00:30] services that aren't getting them and

[1:00:31] when they're relocated out of the

[1:00:32] district, they're top of that district's

[1:00:34] list. Why? So what is our threshold?

[1:00:36] What is our numbers here? And and at

[1:00:38] what percent level are kids getting? Not

[1:00:40] these little classes, the pullout

[1:00:42] classes, actual intervention if they're

[1:00:43] falling behind grade level. Um other

[1:00:46] thing is is also have a big component in

[1:00:48] diversity and I feel our community um

[1:00:50] could use some more diversity in its

[1:00:52] school system and looking at that and

[1:00:53] making sure that we're finding ways to

[1:00:55] make sure all students are feeling um a

[1:00:58] need and representation around our

[1:00:59] community. Um time and time again I know

[1:01:02] we have Jamal that has come in but in

[1:01:03] leadership roles um we did also get uh

[1:01:06] you know what's her name at uh Fitch and

[1:01:08] that's great but it's just we need more

[1:01:10] uh you know uh diversity in our

[1:01:12] community represented. Um we are 5 what

[1:01:14] 3% um and yet I don't feel like our

[1:01:17] numbers look anywhere close and I know

[1:01:19] that's a concern nationwide. It's not

[1:01:21] just in Grten. Um but communication is a

[1:01:23] concern I feel in the town of Grten. Um

[1:01:25] I do feel that the app is one of the

[1:01:28] things I hear a lot about. It's a

[1:01:29] wonderful tool but it shouldn't take

[1:01:30] away from the intimacy of communication.

[1:01:33] If a child's injured, you know, the

[1:01:35] nurse is sending a message, you know,

[1:01:36] you you need to call the parents. Like

[1:01:38] there's a way in which things should be

[1:01:39] rolled out that are not. And so I feel

[1:01:41] like we're losing that kind of, you

[1:01:44] know, you be trying to get the kids off

[1:01:45] the technology and now we have the

[1:01:46] parents on the technology. So it's great

[1:01:48] in one avenue and not um in another. But

[1:01:51] I do not see enough funding going into

[1:01:53] closing those achievement gaps. Again,

[1:01:56] as I stated, um I'm all for IB, great.

[1:01:58] But if it's only serving a certain

[1:02:00] percent of students, then I have we have

[1:02:02] more students behind grade level. Let me repeat that. We have more

[1:02:06] students that are not making grade level

[1:02:08] goal than we do in an IB program.

[1:02:11] Imagine if we took that funding from IB

[1:02:14] and put it to our students that are

[1:02:17] behind grade level, either reading or

[1:02:19] not writing on level.

[1:02:23] Why is that not our concern? But yet

[1:02:25] we're, you know, we're advertising and

[1:02:27] saying, "Oh, kids can come from out of

[1:02:28] town for this and and things like that."

[1:02:30] We should have a robust intervention

[1:02:33] program here where we want to close

[1:02:35] those achievement gaps. That is our job

[1:02:37] here is teaching and learning which we

[1:02:39] say time and time again. That should be

[1:02:41] the number one thing in your in your

[1:02:42] budget coming up is making sure yes it's

[1:02:45] great to have these must nice haves for

[1:02:46] everybody else but not everyone's going

[1:02:48] to go to college and not everyone's

[1:02:50] going to you know need uh AP or IB

[1:02:54] programming but kids need to know how to

[1:02:55] read and write. I was working with a

[1:02:57] student recently and they were talking

[1:02:59] about how they couldn't even read a

[1:03:00] clock, like an analog clock. Kids can't

[1:03:03] write cursive. Like, we got to get back

[1:03:05] to the basics. If you can't write

[1:03:06] cursive, you can't read the Declaration

[1:03:08] of Independence. If you can't use an

[1:03:09] analog clock, I just feel like we're

[1:03:11] pushing through services. And the kids

[1:03:14] that are have families that are more

[1:03:16] engaged or have the finances can pay for

[1:03:18] those higher level tutors and other

[1:03:20] families that can't are suffering. And

[1:03:22] we have an obligation in this town to

[1:03:23] make sure that kids are being educated

[1:03:26] and are leaving our school at the

[1:03:27] highest level they possibly can, no

[1:03:29] matter where they are. I don't care if

[1:03:31] they have a 504. I don't care if they

[1:03:33] have an IEP. You have an individual

[1:03:35] education plan and obligation to make

[1:03:37] sure that child is getting the services.

[1:03:40] And with that, parents have to fight.

[1:03:42] Why in the town of Fraud? I used to have

[1:03:44] to fight. And they said, "Well, Mrs.

[1:03:46] portal on there's not enough kids that

[1:03:48] are in that classroom, so we can't give

[1:03:50] them the push and support. Isn't that a

[1:03:52] good problem to have if you have a kid

[1:03:53] in a high level math class? I don't

[1:03:55] care. That's not something you should

[1:03:56] tell the parents. You should say, "We're

[1:03:58] going to fight for you under that IEP

[1:04:00] and we're going to fire find somebody

[1:04:02] who can do that high level math for your

[1:04:04] kid in that classroom." Well, Mrs.

[1:04:06] Bordon, a lot of the kids, you know, in

[1:04:08] that class aren't getting intentional

[1:04:10] pushing support, so we can't we have

[1:04:12] nobody that's available during that time

[1:04:14] block. That's not what we should be

[1:04:16] telling. We should be finding tutors.

[1:04:18] Oh, we don't have enough teachers that

[1:04:20] can do that level math.

[1:04:22] Why? Where are they all at? Oh, they're

[1:04:24] having trouble hiring them, they say.

[1:04:26] Okay. Well, then make sure those hiring

[1:04:28] positions stay open. If you're telling

[1:04:29] parents that those positions should be

[1:04:31] open and stating the level of math that

[1:04:33] you're looking for until it's achieved

[1:04:35] and showing that parent that you're

[1:04:36] actively trying to hire that position.

[1:04:38] So these are the communications and the

[1:04:40] levels that are missing and parents feel

[1:04:42] that their kids are not getting the

[1:04:44] support and it should be across the

[1:04:46] board. The other thing is communication.

[1:04:48] Some schools have this going on at

[1:04:50] elementary schools and other ones don't.

[1:04:51] This used to be a problem when all the

[1:04:53] middle schools were separated. Thank god

[1:04:54] that's over, right? One school had a

[1:04:56] salad bar, one had the higher math and

[1:04:58] the other one didn't have either either math or salad bar. So this was a

[1:05:01] real problem with middle school. Kids at

[1:05:04] Westside weren't getting the higher

[1:05:05] level math. They said there wasn't

[1:05:06] enough kids on that side of town to take

[1:05:08] the classes. That was a problem in our

[1:05:10] town. We're not that far removed and

[1:05:12] those kids are still in our district.

[1:05:13] But on the elementary level, there are

[1:05:15] some caveats and things and styles that

[1:05:18] are changing. We are one rotten and it

[1:05:20] should be across the board equal and

[1:05:22] fair. I don't care what side of town you

[1:05:24] live on. The services that are provided,

[1:05:26] if you're going to have a walking club

[1:05:27] over here, well, you better have one

[1:05:28] over here. If you can't find a teacher,

[1:05:30] you better figure something out. It

[1:05:31] should be across the board. Um, and I

[1:05:34] will wait for your next public comment

[1:05:36] after that. But I'm just saying the

[1:05:37] budget needs to look better, cleaner,

[1:05:39] and we need to look at ways that you

[1:05:41] guys are putting that money and funding

[1:05:42] it just as exciting. Come up here and

[1:05:44] smile just like you do about that IB

[1:05:46] program talking about those achievement

[1:05:47] gaps and putting the money and making

[1:05:49] sure parents in our district have a

[1:05:51] fair, equitable, livable wage. I cannot

[1:05:54] stand when you guys go to contract for

[1:05:56] talking, you know, to negotiate that and

[1:05:58] then in the budget you say, "Oh, we

[1:05:59] didn't negotiate that. We don't have the

[1:06:01] money now. Start now. Let's go. You want

[1:06:04] good Paris to stay, you got to pay them.

[1:06:07] Thank you. Thank you. All right. Do I

[1:06:10] have a motion to thank you everyone for

[1:06:11] attending? I really appreciate it. This

[1:06:14] is the first of I'm hoping to have

[1:06:15] another one. Maybe not from 5 to 6,

[1:06:18] maybe at 7 to see if we get more people

[1:06:21] at 7. But I do appreciate everyone

[1:06:23] coming and speaking their minds and

[1:06:26] giving us some good feedback. So, thank

[1:06:27] you very much.

[1:06:29] >> Do I have a motion to adjourn? Dr. A.

[1:06:31] >> Motion. Motion to adjourn.

[1:06:34] >> Okay, it is 607

[1:06:36] and

[1:06:38] 606 and motion made by Andrew,

[1:06:43] second by Mitch. All those in favor of

[1:06:45] German I.

[1:12:28] Good evening. This is a meeting of the

[1:12:31] Gat Board of Education. It's the regular

[1:12:33] meeting of the board of education being

[1:12:36] held on Monday, September 8th, 2026

[1:12:40] at in central office and online. And the

[1:12:44] time of the meeting is 6:11.

[1:12:47] >> September 28th.

[1:12:49] >> Oh, September 28th. I was thinking on

[1:12:51] October 26. I September 28th. Thank you,

[1:12:54] Mitch.

[1:12:58] And the first order of business is the

[1:13:00] pledge of allegiance. If you all can

[1:13:02] stand.

[1:13:07] I pledge algiance to the flag of the

[1:13:10] United States of America and to the

[1:13:12] republic for stands one nation under

[1:13:15] God, indivisible, with liberty and

[1:13:18] justice for all.

[1:13:21] >> Okay.

[1:13:23] Um the next item is recognition and

[1:13:26] participation of visitors and

[1:13:27] delegation.

[1:13:29] Um, I just like to recognize IT

[1:13:32] professionals appreciation day was on

[1:13:36] September 15th and human resources

[1:13:39] professionals appreciation day is on

[1:13:42] September 26.

[1:13:45] The next item is comments from citizens.

[1:13:48] This is a portion of the agenda where

[1:13:50] the board welcomes comments from

[1:13:52] citizens. Each presentation should be

[1:13:54] limited to five minutes or less and

[1:13:57] citizens should if possible submit

[1:13:59] written comments. Presentation should be

[1:14:02] related to matters pertinent to Graten.

[1:14:04] Board members will only ask questions in

[1:14:06] order to clarify the speaker's

[1:14:08] presentation and cannot respond during

[1:14:11] the comments of citizens portion of the

[1:14:12] board meeting. Citizens should make

[1:14:14] their presentation from the podium and

[1:14:17] state their names, addresses for the

[1:14:20] record. And the first person we have is

[1:14:23] Miles Reese.

[1:14:29] » All right. Uh hello everybody. Um my

[1:14:32] name is Miles Reese. I am a senior at

[1:14:35] Roberty Fitch High School. Um and I am

[1:14:38] speaking in part on behalf of the uh

[1:14:42] Fitch Robotics Team uh the aluminum

[1:14:45] falcons or cotton robotics team, sorry.

[1:14:48] Um, and I am a senior, as I already

[1:14:51] mentioned. I am captain and CAD lead of

[1:14:55] the robotics team, as well as president

[1:14:58] of Fitch Theater. Um, and I hope to go

[1:15:02] on to study architecture. Just a little

[1:15:04] bit about me. Um but I'm here to speak

[1:15:09] um because

[1:15:11] we as a team were recently made aware

[1:15:15] that our team status within F FRC the

[1:15:18] organization that runs our robotics um

[1:15:22] has been changed. While we understand

[1:15:26] the that there are reasons for this

[1:15:29] change, um it does not change the fact

[1:15:32] that there are problems that arise with

[1:15:35] this and I just want to talk a little

[1:15:37] bit as well as with my compatriots um

[1:15:41] about what this is. So we have the the

[1:15:46] largest change is that we have lost our

[1:15:49] number which is our identity within

[1:15:51] first as you guys can see on my shirts

[1:15:54] or on my shirt and my compatriots shirts

[1:15:56] where it's 2168 which is our old number

[1:15:59] is a huge part of our identity as a

[1:16:02] team. It is how we identify ourselves

[1:16:07] within our team as well as how others

[1:16:10] recognize us. It is an even larger part

[1:16:13] than the name aluminum falcon robotics

[1:16:16] is. Um but because of this change we are

[1:16:21] now facing numerous

[1:16:24] um difficulties is due to that part one

[1:16:29] being the loss of our team reputation

[1:16:34] and our

[1:16:36] status within F FRC which may cause us

[1:16:39] to end up having to travel three or even

[1:16:42] more hours to competitions

[1:16:45] which will be an enormous strain on our

[1:16:48] team members, parents, and and such. As

[1:16:52] well as losing the history that allows

[1:16:55] us to apply for certain awards and

[1:16:58] opportunities that us as students rely

[1:17:01] on for resumes and college applications,

[1:17:04] as well as the team relies on for things

[1:17:07] like grants. In addition, this is not

[1:17:11] because due to the name change, but it

[1:17:12] is yet another difficulty that we have

[1:17:14] had to face as a team. We have had to

[1:17:16] move our shop twice in the past two

[1:17:19] years um into a smaller location and

[1:17:22] then yet another even smaller location

[1:17:25] where we no longer have the capabilities

[1:17:27] to build a practice field to test the

[1:17:30] robot that we work so hard to build or

[1:17:32] even a space that can really safely

[1:17:35] contain the robot that we must build for

[1:17:39] our experience. And and as part of our

[1:17:44] job as a robotics team, as a team, we

[1:17:48] spend thousands of hours every year in

[1:17:52] the shop building the ro robots, working

[1:17:55] with our community is learning skills.

[1:17:59] We meet the entire year round, even in

[1:18:02] the summer sometimes. And and so with

[1:18:07] that, we spend and dedicate so much time

[1:18:10] to this this team. I personally cannot

[1:18:14] say a how much this team has meant to

[1:18:18] me. I have been in the aluminum falcons

[1:18:21] ecosystem since I was approximately

[1:18:26] seven or eight years old when my elder

[1:18:28] brother was on the team. Um and so this

[1:18:32] team has been an integral part of who I

[1:18:35] have become as a person and and joining

[1:18:39] the team, especially as design lead has

[1:18:42] meant that I have created and built so

[1:18:45] many skills that will be integral to

[1:18:47] what I hope to be my future career as an

[1:18:50] architect where I hope to dedicate my

[1:18:52] time in assisting. Sorry, is that the

[1:18:55] warning? Um apologies. Um but you know

[1:19:00] where I hope to better the lives of

[1:19:02] everybody around me um through my

[1:19:06] designs and as design lead I have

[1:19:10] learned so many things. I cannot

[1:19:12] emphasize enough how much this team has

[1:19:15] helped me and has meant to me during the

[1:19:19] time and with our shirts as you can see

[1:19:22] we proudly wear them. They are they

[1:19:25] demonstrate our team number which is is

[1:19:28] what we have lost and which is so much a

[1:19:31] part of our identity as a team. Every

[1:19:34] time today and in am practicing for

[1:19:38] today that I have forgotten or that I

[1:19:40] have be had to say aluminum falcon

[1:19:44] robotics, I have had to stop myself from

[1:19:46] saying 2168 because it is so ingrained

[1:19:50] in who we are as a team and how other

[1:19:53] people see us that they are one and the

[1:19:56] same for me. And so the loss of the

[1:20:01] number is not just superficial. It is a

[1:20:05] loss of our identity as a group and of

[1:20:09] our history and impact

[1:20:13] that we have had in the past. Um these

[1:20:18] shirts are a symbol of all of that and

[1:20:22] they are are you know not just a team

[1:20:25] spirit thing. They're also our uniforms

[1:20:28] at competitions. They're how other

[1:20:30] people recognize us as 2168. We have a

[1:20:34] long history. Pretty much every team

[1:20:38] beam throughout New England knows the

[1:20:41] name 2168.

[1:20:44] And now without that number, uh we are

[1:20:47] now 2291,

[1:20:50] which is a name that means nothing to

[1:20:54] anyone. And on that note, I want to pass

[1:20:58] it off to Jacob, who will talk a little

[1:21:02] bit more about the financial impact of

[1:21:05] this change.

[1:21:06] >> Thank you, Miles.

[1:21:08] >> Thank you.

[1:21:08] >> Uh hello members of the board. My name

[1:21:10] is Jacob Kafalo. I am a junior on the

[1:21:13] team. I also am the business lead and a

[1:21:18] uh mechanical student.

[1:21:20] As B previously said, 260 is part of our

[1:21:23] identity and not just our identity, but

[1:21:26] also a key part in how we display our

[1:21:31] team when out and about. Team members

[1:21:33] and parents have bought thousands of

[1:21:35] dollars worth merchandise. I myself have

[1:21:38] boughten many pieces that I wear around

[1:21:41] especially at competitions that it is no

[1:21:44] longer applicable as this is not a

[1:21:46] number anymore. You can no longer wear

[1:21:48] it. And same thing with mentors. Mentors

[1:21:51] have also spent thousands of dollars,

[1:21:52] especially if they've had uh multiple

[1:21:55] kids who go through the team, such as

[1:21:57] one of our long tenured mentors, Jason,

[1:21:59] who had two sons go through the team,

[1:22:01] both of them for four years. So, he's

[1:22:04] got a lot of merchandise that is no

[1:22:06] longer wearable. Um,

[1:22:11] as well as I'd like to discuss our

[1:22:13] budget real quick. As a team, it costs

[1:22:17] $10,000 just to build the robot. And

[1:22:19] that is on average. It can in certain

[1:22:23] years has bloomed up to say $15,000 to

[1:22:27] build the robot due to certain failures

[1:22:29] that may have occurred with our robot,

[1:22:33] you know. Uh and then you have to factor

[1:22:37] in the cost of competition. It costs

[1:22:39] $4,000 to $6,000 to register for one

[1:22:41] competition.

[1:22:43] With just the robot and registering,

[1:22:46] that can be over $22,000.

[1:22:50] And then parents also donate, you know,

[1:22:54] time, money, food that they had to pay

[1:22:58] for that wasn't paid for by the team.

[1:23:01] And then

[1:23:03] we as a result of this change, we've

[1:23:06] also lost the opportunity to get grants

[1:23:09] as Miles said because of a lack of name

[1:23:12] recognition and just sort of having to

[1:23:14] start a new.

[1:23:16] We compete against teams that have

[1:23:19] budgets ballooning of upwards of

[1:23:21] $50,000.

[1:23:23] teams that have been able to have a

[1:23:26] consistent shop, been able to get better

[1:23:30] materials, better motors, better

[1:23:32] equipment than us, and have been able to

[1:23:37] get bigger sponsors than us. Over the

[1:23:40] past few years, fundraising has become

[1:23:41] increasingly difficult as people no

[1:23:44] longer carry the cash to, you know, give

[1:23:46] the kids doing a car wash at the

[1:23:47] hardware store. So,

[1:23:50] these these uh fundraisers that we've

[1:23:53] done have gotten us maybe $500

[1:23:57] to pay for a season such as this one

[1:24:01] where we've lost thousands of dollars

[1:24:03] worth of grants. That could be up to 32

[1:24:06] to 40 Sundays of car washing cars out in

[1:24:08] the harbor. So, with no guarantee of

[1:24:10] making the money that we invest into

[1:24:13] these fundraisers back,

[1:24:15] it's it's just not realistic. Now I've

[1:24:18] concluded my remarks. I'd like to invite

[1:24:20] Alex to speak.

[1:24:23] >> Thank you, Jacob.

[1:24:28] » Hello. I am Alexander Kenates. I am a

[1:24:30] current senior on the Fitch Robotics

[1:24:32] team and I am the current training and

[1:24:34] curriculum manager. So I want to talk a

[1:24:37] little more about what impact the team

[1:24:39] has in the students and how per it has

[1:24:41] personally helped me. So the team really

[1:24:43] has a very extraordinary impact on every

[1:24:46] single student. It in fact really

[1:24:49] produces amazing students. The team has

[1:24:51] had a 100% graduation rate of every

[1:24:53] single student whether they go to Fitch,

[1:24:55] marine science or Graaso. Not a single

[1:24:58] student hasn't graduated. And these

[1:25:01] students go on to achieve amazing

[1:25:03] things. For example, one of our former

[1:25:05] students got a full ride to WPI because

[1:25:08] she was on the team. and many other

[1:25:10] alumni attend prestigious colleges while

[1:25:13] other work um locally at places like

[1:25:16] electric boat. But robotics is much more

[1:25:19] than just preparing students for

[1:25:21] technical careers. Our students learn a

[1:25:24] multitude of different things. They

[1:25:26] learn manufacturing, machining, computer

[1:25:29] AED design, computer programming,

[1:25:31] business skills like Jacob on the

[1:25:33] business team, leadership and much more.

[1:25:36] We learn to work with people from all

[1:25:38] different backgrounds. We learn to face

[1:25:40] failures and to keep going and

[1:25:44] resilience really. We are much more than

[1:25:47] just a club. We are a team that has real

[1:25:50] impact on the community around us and

[1:25:52] students within the team. Developing

[1:25:54] skills that can last us a lifetime.

[1:25:56] Placing alumni in high status jobs and

[1:25:59] nurturing and teaching kids STEM.

[1:26:02] Personally, the team has helped me a

[1:26:04] lot. I think team has really made me a

[1:26:06] better person. Um, it's really taught me

[1:26:08] a lot about being a student and really

[1:26:11] inspired me to really be interested in

[1:26:13] STEM and

[1:26:15] just become a better person. We have

[1:26:17] really had to um work through a lot of

[1:26:19] different roadblocks over the past

[1:26:21] couple of years and we have just been

[1:26:23] met with the biggest one yet. We are

[1:26:25] here today in hopes that the people in

[1:26:27] charge of our education realize how much

[1:26:30] of a difference we can all make if we

[1:26:32] work together. We can only do so much on

[1:26:35] our own. Replacing lost funding and

[1:26:37] offsetting the rising costs of travel

[1:26:39] and competition could mean the

[1:26:41] difference between surviving and getting

[1:26:43] the team up and running and really

[1:26:46] giving our students the opportunities

[1:26:48] that they need. We aren't just building

[1:26:50] robots. We are building skills,

[1:26:53] relationships, confidence, and our

[1:26:55] future. We try to help to shape the

[1:26:57] future one robot at a time. Without the

[1:27:00] support necessary to keep our team

[1:27:02] accessible and sustainable, that future

[1:27:04] may not be possible. We are asking you

[1:27:06] to stand with our students, our mentors,

[1:27:08] and our team and our future. If we work

[1:27:12] together, we can overcome this obstacle

[1:27:14] just as we have every other. Our

[1:27:17] students are ready to keep building and

[1:27:18] learning. We just need the support from

[1:27:20] you. Thank you.

[1:27:22] >> Thank you, Alexander.

[1:27:24] Any

[1:27:25] other student would like to speak?

[1:27:34] » Um, Porsche Bordon, 24 Jefferson Drive.

[1:27:37] For full disclosure, I'm on the board um

[1:27:39] town council. Um, I'm a town counselor

[1:27:41] in the town of Graten. I'm a Fitch High

[1:27:42] School graduate, spouse of Ian Thomas

[1:27:44] who sits on the board of education, and

[1:27:46] a mother of two sons who graduated in 21

[1:27:48] and 24 from Fitch. I just want to thank

[1:27:50] Alex for speaking. I know Alex god for

[1:27:54] since probably freshman year. Um, uh,

[1:27:56] Alex is also part of the ROTC program

[1:27:58] and to hear him up here speak just see

[1:28:00] the passion in his his voice and how

[1:28:02] much he's grown as a person. Um, you

[1:28:04] know, they talked tonight about what the

[1:28:06] impacts are, but what you didn't talk

[1:28:08] about is the emotional impact and what I

[1:28:10] hear is the passion, emotion that this

[1:28:11] team has been put through at the hands

[1:28:13] of our cal. And I stand with you guys. I

[1:28:16] stand with you all the way. I've been

[1:28:17] following it. I don't get to come as

[1:28:18] much because I've made some other

[1:28:20] appointments during the week, but I will

[1:28:21] keep following. And I encourage you guys

[1:28:23] every Monday um at the end of the month,

[1:28:26] they have the same meeting and send one

[1:28:28] person each time. Keep the pulse. The

[1:28:30] way you get things done is you speak up.

[1:28:31] You don't sit back. You politely come up

[1:28:33] here and you speak your ground and you

[1:28:34] let people know where you stand and you

[1:28:35] let them know, hey, we're not backing

[1:28:37] down. Here's our face. We need a plan.

[1:28:40] And you guys keep coming. Bring more

[1:28:42] people. Keep asking and keep standing

[1:28:43] up. And that's how things get done. And

[1:28:45] I admire what you guys are doing. Thank

[1:28:47] you. As that as that stands, I encourage

[1:28:49] this board to do something. What are we

[1:28:52] doing? What are we doing? Okay. On one

[1:28:55] hand, we're promoting the IV program.

[1:28:57] We're trying to get an electric boat uh

[1:28:59] shop in here, and we got another one

[1:29:00] that's falling apart. Where who's at the

[1:29:03] helm? Who's driving the ship?

[1:29:06] Where's the money? What are we doing?

[1:29:09] How do we have a prestigious program?

[1:29:11] And and that number 2168, you know how

[1:29:14] hard those kids worked for that number?

[1:29:16] I remember when this this was just in

[1:29:17] its infancy. They worked so hard. It is

[1:29:21] a identity. Just like Fitch football, if

[1:29:23] we took the field away, this building

[1:29:25] would be on like I won't say the word,

[1:29:27] but it would be crowded every day with

[1:29:29] people protesting if you were taking

[1:29:30] away the funding and and the lack of

[1:29:32] resources to have a football team. Am I

[1:29:35] wrong? No, I'm not. The passion and

[1:29:38] program when people start in grassroots

[1:29:40] and establish themselves, we have an

[1:29:42] obligation to keep it going. This

[1:29:44] program provides those math skills and

[1:29:47] those experiences that you're not going

[1:29:48] to get anywhere else. And I'm

[1:29:50] embarrassed. I'll just put it out there.

[1:29:52] I'm embarrassed for you guys. As a

[1:29:54] mother, as a taxpayer, as a counselor, I

[1:29:56] want to say to you, I am sorry. I am

[1:29:59] sorry that the town of Groten is failing

[1:30:01] you. And that is from my heart. I've

[1:30:03] been watching these meetings and

[1:30:04] watching these students. Let's get our

[1:30:07] head together. Now, we have a committee.

[1:30:09] Is that to slow it down or are we really

[1:30:10] going to MOVE IT ALONG? HOW OFTEN IS

[1:30:12] THAT COMMITTEE MEETING? once a month. At

[1:30:14] this rate, they'll never have a plan.

[1:30:16] And it's no criticism to who's on the

[1:30:18] committee, but let's go. IF WE REALLY

[1:30:19] CARE, YOU CAN HAVE EMERGENCY meetings

[1:30:21] and have them every week, TWICE A WEEK.

[1:30:23] LET'S GET GOING. THIS HAS been around

[1:30:26] and we have an obligation to keep this

[1:30:28] going. And that brings me to my next

[1:30:29] point, equitable funding across the

[1:30:32] board. We have a good thing we all get

[1:30:34] like right behind something just like

[1:30:36] the ROC which was one of the things that

[1:30:37] I had brought forward because of two

[1:30:39] sons wanting to join the Navy and I

[1:30:40] couldn't get anybody to wrap their head

[1:30:42] around it. I I mean it was at one point

[1:30:44] where someone on the board had said we

[1:30:46] don't want guns in our school. I said

[1:30:47] they're parade guns. They're practicing

[1:30:48] and finally things started moving and

[1:30:50] things are still you know it's always in

[1:30:52] flux. We need to fund every program in

[1:30:54] the town of Graten with the same funer

[1:30:56] across the board. Who's in charge of

[1:30:58] these programs? who's forthinking and

[1:31:01] foreshadowing and planning and making

[1:31:02] sure that we have a plan and not going,

[1:31:04] "Well, Pleasant Valley is closing. Where

[1:31:06] are they going now? I don't know." I mean, that's always been

[1:31:09] the thing that that building would sell

[1:31:11] at some point. I mean, we shouldn't be

[1:31:14] at this point. WE SHOULD HAVE HAD THIS

[1:31:15] DONE SIX years ago. Six years ago. And

[1:31:18] I'm sorry if that's pointing the blame

[1:31:20] with the finger. The blame has to be

[1:31:22] pointed. The kids speak up. When when

[1:31:24] things happen and you're wrong, you you

[1:31:26] admit you're wrong. You say, "We didn't

[1:31:28] do it right. We have an obligation to

[1:31:30] tell these kids, "We messed up and

[1:31:32] someone dropped the ball and we need to

[1:31:34] fix it for the future to come because

[1:31:36] they don't deserve this. The parents and

[1:31:39] the funding, the whole thing is just

[1:31:41] when you watch this, it's just like

[1:31:44] shocking. You have kids wanting to be a

[1:31:46] part of something and we the barrier is

[1:31:48] we just didn't do our planning. We

[1:31:49] didn't do our homework, right? We didn't

[1:31:51] do our homework in the town of Rod.

[1:31:53] These kids are struggling to to have a

[1:31:55] program. Let's figure it out, folks.

[1:31:57] Let's do it. we can do this. GET IT

[1:31:59] DONE. AND IT'S LIKE, OH, WE'RE GOING TO

[1:32:01] BUILD ANOTHER BUILDING. THAT'S GOING TO

[1:32:02] TAKE HOW MANY MORE YEARS TO BUILD A

[1:32:03] BUILDING? YOU HAVEN'T EVEN FOUND A SPOT,

[1:32:05] broke ground, GOT THE FUNDING. LIKE,

[1:32:06] THAT'S ALL GREAT, BUT WHAT ARE WE doing

[1:32:08] now? If you have to rent a building in

[1:32:10] the community, I encourage the board to

[1:32:12] find that funding. Lock in a lease and

[1:32:14] lock it down. There's so many empty

[1:32:16] storefronts in the town of Gr up and

[1:32:18] down where people use for political

[1:32:20] campaigning. How about reaching out and

[1:32:21] getting a lease there and saying, "Let's

[1:32:23] rent that space. get these kids in a

[1:32:25] home until you guys can figure out

[1:32:26] what's the next step with that. Speaking

[1:32:29] of space and and keeping things up, at

[1:32:32] the town council, we had to vote to move

[1:32:34] a polling station the next election

[1:32:36] because of heat cuz people were passing

[1:32:38] out at Fitch. How is it in this day and

[1:32:41] age with the renovations going on around

[1:32:43] that the Fitch HIGH SCHOOL'S GYMS DOES

[1:32:45] NOT HAVE AIR CONDITIONING?

[1:32:48] Who can attend basketball games and

[1:32:49] things? People have medical conditions.

[1:32:51] I encourage you guys to look at that. So

[1:32:52] if people are passing out at the polling

[1:32:54] stations and we're in school and THE

[1:32:55] CLIMATE'S GETTING HOTTER harder hotter,

[1:32:58] I encourage you to look at that as well.

[1:33:00] We need AC a big and it should be

[1:33:02] in our gyms where kids are medically

[1:33:03] fragile can go in there and feel

[1:33:04] comfortable and it should be climate

[1:33:06] control. That is a it's 2026. Where's

[1:33:09] the budget for that? Let's get the H

[1:33:10] back in there. And with that building

[1:33:12] maintenance up at Fitch, the curb sides,

[1:33:15] you know, they're all chewed up and

[1:33:16] things you walk I went up there not long

[1:33:18] fell going in. I was like, you know,

[1:33:20] there's a thing with a thing like holes,

[1:33:22] potholes, like doesn't look like a loved

[1:33:24] school to me outside from the outside

[1:33:26] thing. The door frames ARE ALL RUSTED.

[1:33:28] IF YOU come in the old wing by the gym,

[1:33:30] um the water kind of comes in where

[1:33:32] those bathrooms that look like they're

[1:33:33] from the 1950s. The front bathrooms in

[1:33:35] the front of the building, like, you

[1:33:37] know, there's some stuff we can do.

[1:33:38] Those same sinks, when I wash my hands,

[1:33:39] I laugh. It's the same sink I washed my

[1:33:41] hands in when I went there. We need to

[1:33:44] clean up the area, paint the doors.

[1:33:46] They're rusted. Like we have an

[1:33:48] obligation to make sure the buildings

[1:33:50] look presentable. The grounds, the

[1:33:52] voting's getting done, but the other

[1:33:54] structures and things, I mean, we they

[1:33:56] should look nice. We should be PROUD OF

[1:33:57] THE SCHOOL. I shouldn't be tripping over

[1:33:59] shoot up curb cuts walking into pitch.

[1:34:02] No AC in the gym. So, this this is

[1:34:04] something we have to do better about. If

[1:34:06] it's a b it's a budget issue, let's

[1:34:08] figure it out. We got to get around the

[1:34:09] table with that. Time and time again,

[1:34:12] fencing and ROC program are constantly

[1:34:15] not getting enough funding, just like

[1:34:16] robotics. And that should not be the

[1:34:18] case. One thing about robotics, one

[1:34:20] thing about fencing, and one thing about

[1:34:22] um ROC, they take everybody. Everyone's

[1:34:25] part of the team. Nobody's caught.

[1:34:27] Nobody sits the sideline. Everyone has a

[1:34:29] job. That's the stuff I can get my head

[1:34:32] around. Why? Because every kid shows up

[1:34:33] and everyone's a part of the team. Just

[1:34:35] like track, right? You get a pair of

[1:34:37] shorts and a shirt, everyone runs. Even

[1:34:39] if that person comes and laughs,

[1:34:41] everyone's there to the end. Everyone's

[1:34:42] a part of the team. But what I found out

[1:34:44] recently since middle schools had merged

[1:34:47] and one of the things I'm passionate

[1:34:48] about as a person was cross country

[1:34:49] indoor and outdoor track. I joined all

[1:34:51] the sports that took everybody even the

[1:34:53] last runner. And one of the things I

[1:34:55] found out since the merge they're having

[1:34:56] to cut kids at middle school for track

[1:34:59] and cross country because they have too

[1:35:00] many numbers. That was not the plan of

[1:35:03] the merge. The the plan of the merge was

[1:35:05] to make sure that we were more robust

[1:35:07] and now less kids are getting shirts

[1:35:09] because they don't have the funding is

[1:35:11] what I'm hearing. to make sure all kids

[1:35:13] can play that. If we start cutting kids

[1:35:16] in middle school at entry levels, then

[1:35:18] you are not allowing our team to grow

[1:35:20] because most kids don't even hit puberty

[1:35:22] till later and they don't even know

[1:35:23] they're an athlete until much later. It

[1:35:25] is fundamentally important that every

[1:35:28] kid gets a shirt. It's the cheapest

[1:35:29] sport around. They bring their own

[1:35:30] sneakers, they throw on a shirt, and

[1:35:31] they run. If it's a staffing issue, we

[1:35:34] need staffing. I also heard in the

[1:35:35] middle school there's no female coach.

[1:35:37] they, you know, we need to make sure

[1:35:38] that we have, you know, diversity in

[1:35:40] gender up there as well helping out

[1:35:42] these students. These are things that

[1:35:44] need to be be established because girl,

[1:35:46] female students and the parents have

[1:35:47] addressed me that might be experiencing

[1:35:50] that time of the month or some growth

[1:35:51] and they don't feel comfortable asking a

[1:35:53] coach that's male. You need to make sure

[1:35:55] those staff are there. Just like when I

[1:35:57] said we needed AED machines across all

[1:35:58] the buildings, that's one of the things

[1:35:59] I fought for. We have them now. We need

[1:36:01] to make sure this is happening. no kid

[1:36:03] in the middle school program because

[1:36:04] what happens is that you have the kids

[1:36:06] who come from families that are more

[1:36:07] affluent that have more money whose

[1:36:08] parents can put them in the pay to play

[1:36:10] sports that advance and then they get to

[1:36:12] pitch and they're varsity and THE KIDS

[1:36:14] WHO DON'T HAVE THAT TYPE OF ABILITY

[1:36:16] WHICH THAT EXISTS they're being caught

[1:36:17] and they're not getting the

[1:36:18] opportunities like everybody else. So,

[1:36:20] one of the benefits, which I hate, can't

[1:36:21] believe I'm saying this, of the split up

[1:36:24] was that you had two different sides of

[1:36:25] town and everyone got to run. And now

[1:36:27] you're going to have more kids not

[1:36:29] allowed to run because they're being cut

[1:36:31] and then could be discouraged. Okay?

[1:36:34] With all of the things going on in the

[1:36:36] world, we want kids. And those type of

[1:36:38] sports, I don't care if you got to fill

[1:36:39] two buses, those kids shouldn't be

[1:36:40] there. So, I encourage this board to

[1:36:42] look into how middle school sports are

[1:36:44] being funded and cut. Uh, now with the

[1:36:47] merge, I want the same numbers we had

[1:36:49] because we were funding it when we had

[1:36:51] three middle schools at one point and

[1:36:52] then two, we should still be able to

[1:36:54] give those kids a fair fair opportunity.

[1:36:56] Lastly,

[1:36:58] I encourage you guys again to pay our

[1:37:00] parents a fair equitable wage, close

[1:37:03] achievement gaps, making sure the

[1:37:04] funding is going to the kids that are

[1:37:05] most vulnerable. I can understand the IB

[1:37:07] program, but not if you're not funding

[1:37:09] the lower levels, making sure that

[1:37:11] things are being funded in the level

[1:37:13] that they should. The kids need the

[1:37:15] supports and the teachers need the

[1:37:16] support on ground level and they are not

[1:37:19] getting it. I'm hearing about the middle

[1:37:20] school being overcrowded and no space

[1:37:22] and they're feeling overwhelmed there.

[1:37:24] That's a concern. That building was

[1:37:25] filled before it was even the last brick

[1:37:27] went in. We have a problem here with

[1:37:30] following through with our

[1:37:32] responsibility and continuity of our

[1:37:34] plan in place. I encourage you guys also

[1:37:36] this year the budget sometimes is

[1:37:38] chaotic. Watch other town's budget.

[1:37:40] Takes five seconds. I watch every town.

[1:37:42] I I I'm obsessed with it all. Look at

[1:37:44] how they move through their budget. They

[1:37:46] do it equitably. They do it line by line

[1:37:49] and they move it. And if they're not

[1:37:50] done with that area, they come back.

[1:37:52] They don't close the meeting. They come

[1:37:53] back in and they come back out and they

[1:37:55] go back in. Okay. YOU GUYS ARE LIKE,

[1:37:57] "OH, LET'S DO PAGE FIVE AND SIX." AND IS

[1:37:59] it meant to make everyone distracted?

[1:38:01] Because as a person who's following from

[1:38:02] a town counselor and one of the at the

[1:38:04] time one of the only town counselors who

[1:38:06] supported the board of education budget

[1:38:08] because I'm a firm believer in

[1:38:09] education, it is hard to follow. I met

[1:38:11] with Dr. Dr. Gineir many years ago along

[1:38:14] with Jay Whitelaw who's on the board and

[1:38:16] I had a meeting up with her office. I

[1:38:17] think Susan Austin came at the time she

[1:38:18] was at the time the assistant and they

[1:38:20] were going to make amendments then and

[1:38:22] some little bits happened and then it

[1:38:24] died out and then you guys brought it up

[1:38:25] again. You got to clean it up. It it

[1:38:27] should be a little bit more smooth, a

[1:38:29] little more predictable. Open up those

[1:38:31] object codes. When you open up an object

[1:38:32] code, I should be able to see books,

[1:38:34] shoes, pencils. This is like everyone's

[1:38:36] asking, "Well, what's under this?" I

[1:38:37] don't know. We'll have to bring that

[1:38:38] back when like how many days are you

[1:38:42] guys going to spend bringing back items?

[1:38:44] Have them there when you need them. Go

[1:38:45] through it in a robust fashion and they

[1:38:47] should be done. Pretty simplistic. Have

[1:38:49] what you need when you need it. But

[1:38:50] again, fun fun extracurricular

[1:38:53] activities. These programs are what

[1:38:55] makes kids go to college. When you go to

[1:38:57] apply for college, it's not just going

[1:38:59] to college. It's those extracurricular

[1:39:01] activities that you're in that people

[1:39:02] ask about. And when we start cutting

[1:39:04] them here in Rotten,

[1:39:06] we're the suffering capital of the

[1:39:07] world. We have EB, Fizer. We should be

[1:39:10] able to fund these programs ahead of

[1:39:14] most of our communities.

[1:39:16] >> Times out. Thank you. Trying to give you

[1:39:17] a hint. And we struggle also with the

[1:39:20] swimming program as well, which was al

[1:39:22] also being cut. Let's fix it here in

[1:39:24] Bon. Thank you.

[1:39:25] >> Thank you, Porsha.

[1:39:26] >> Yes.

[1:39:28] >> Okay.

[1:39:30] Anyone else?

[1:39:33] Nope. Okay. Next is response to comments

[1:39:36] from citizens. Mitch.

[1:39:38] >> Um Monica just had her hand up. Kind of

[1:39:41] disappeared.

[1:39:42] >> Oh, okay.

[1:39:43] >> All right, Mitch. Go ahead.

[1:39:46] I really appreciate hearing from the

[1:39:49] public. I think it's extremely important

[1:39:52] that we do, but I think it needs to be

[1:39:57] done in a certain manner

[1:39:59] and it needs to be done respectfully

[1:40:03] and I I would prefer to be spoken to,

[1:40:07] not at. So,

[1:40:10] >> I need people to be mindful of that.

[1:40:12] >> Thank you.

[1:40:14] >> I think Monica White might want to talk.

[1:40:16] >> Monica,

[1:40:18] she didn't have a hand up. I'm here. I

[1:40:20] did have my hand raised. Thank you so

[1:40:22] much for acknowledging me. Um I wanted

[1:40:25] to speak briefly or actually I did speak

[1:40:27] very briefly in our previous meeting um

[1:40:30] encouraging the board of ed to invest

[1:40:32] money to eliminate food insecurity

[1:40:34] within the district. Um I wanted to

[1:40:36] speak about friends of Fitch. Friends of

[1:40:38] Fitch is a community supported effort

[1:40:40] serving students at Fitch High School

[1:40:42] and Rotten Middle School. Our goal it is

[1:40:45] simple. It is to make students have make

[1:40:48] sure that students have access to food

[1:40:50] over the weekends when school meals are

[1:40:52] not available. Um I myself was one of

[1:40:56] these kids that did not have food

[1:40:58] available at my home. Please excuse me.

[1:41:01] Um when I was growing up uh there were

[1:41:04] many times where I ate breakfast at

[1:41:07] school, I ate lunch at school and then I

[1:41:09] went home to Matthew.

[1:41:12] Um I grew up in the G South and I can

[1:41:15] guarantee that hunger does not only

[1:41:18] exist for kids in the deep south. There

[1:41:21] are kids within our community that are

[1:41:23] most definitely hungry. Um, at the end

[1:41:27] of the school year last year, I worked

[1:41:29] with school administration at both the

[1:41:32] middle school and the high school and we

[1:41:34] established a goal of providing

[1:41:36] approximately 70 weekend bags each

[1:41:39] weekend across each high school and

[1:41:42] brought middle school. That plan was for

[1:41:45] school administrators and counselors to

[1:41:47] help us identify students who would

[1:41:50] benefit from the program. And we

[1:41:52] anticipated having approximately at

[1:41:54] least 10 students per grade level. We

[1:41:58] actually went through did some fun

[1:42:01] raising efforts to ensure that we could

[1:42:04] meet that mean of 10 students per grade

[1:42:08] level. That's 70 bags per weekend for

[1:42:11] the entire year.

[1:42:13] Um, we entered this school year prepared

[1:42:16] to meet that goal. We've been grateful

[1:42:18] for volunteers within the community that

[1:42:20] have come on board and then financial

[1:42:23] support from community members who have

[1:42:25] made it possible for us to provide these

[1:42:28] meals. And I apologize, I am speaking

[1:42:30] fast. I'm not trying to talk at you. I

[1:42:32] just get a little nervous when I speak

[1:42:34] in front of people. Um, but we have had

[1:42:37] multiple organizations within our

[1:42:39] community that have donated significant

[1:42:42] amounts of money to ensure that we can

[1:42:45] provide weekend meal bags for students

[1:42:47] at middle school and high school.

[1:42:50] However, this past week, it was our

[1:42:52] first week to be able to send home

[1:42:54] friends of pitch bags. We we were only

[1:42:57] able to serve 15 middle school students.

[1:43:01] Now, that number, it's meaningful. It's

[1:43:03] actually five more students at middle

[1:43:06] school than they were able to serve

[1:43:08] through their weekend meal program last

[1:43:10] year. So we are reaching more students

[1:43:13] than we have in the previous year. But

[1:43:16] at the same time 15 students is

[1:43:19] significantly below the goal of the 70

[1:43:22] students that we established at the end

[1:43:24] of the school year with administration.

[1:43:27] Uh we don't want to assume that the

[1:43:31] weekend bags

[1:43:33] are the best solution just because this

[1:43:36] is the program we created. We want to be

[1:43:39] flexible. Um obviously our community

[1:43:42] wants to feed these kids. Um the money

[1:43:46] is there. We want to be flexible. Our

[1:43:48] goal um is not to just have the bags go

[1:43:52] out every week so that we can say we did

[1:43:54] it. We want to make sure that the food

[1:43:56] is getting to the families that actually

[1:43:58] need it. Um, so I really want guidance

[1:44:01] from the board of education. If the

[1:44:03] and the meal bags is not the best

[1:44:06] way to address food security among

[1:44:08] students in Grton public schools, what

[1:44:11] alternative program or approach would

[1:44:13] you recommend? Uh, we friends of pitch

[1:44:16] were willing to listen and adapt. If

[1:44:19] there's another program that is reaching

[1:44:21] these students more effectively, we want

[1:44:22] to know about it. We want invest in it.

[1:44:26] Uh we believe that this will work best

[1:44:28] if it is a partnership. Uh we had food

[1:44:32] services on board with us last year and

[1:44:34] we were able to make a small dent I

[1:44:37] think in some individuals lives uh in

[1:44:41] regard to food insecurity. But if we

[1:44:44] were to truly have a partnership between

[1:44:46] schools and community, I think that we

[1:44:49] would have a greater impact. Um the

[1:44:52] schools, they know their students, they

[1:44:55] know who has a need. Um and then we have

[1:44:59] the resources and we have the volunteers

[1:45:01] that can help meet and fulfill this this

[1:45:05] food insecurity need. Um we are really

[1:45:10] committed to being a part of a

[1:45:12] partnership with Rotten Public Schools.

[1:45:14] I um have communicated numerous times in

[1:45:17] the last couple of weeks with principles

[1:45:20] and counselors at both schools um

[1:45:23] letting them know yes, they can have

[1:45:25] time to identify students. We're not

[1:45:27] going to tell them we're not going to

[1:45:29] feed your kids. Um but we would like to

[1:45:32] be able to have some sort of standing

[1:45:35] program that works within our district.

[1:45:40] Um, we just want to make sure that this

[1:45:42] food is getting to the people that need

[1:45:45] it. And the people that need it, they

[1:45:48] need it desperately.

[1:45:51] Um, thank you so much for

[1:45:54] your time. I do truly appreciate any

[1:45:56] guidance you guys can offer. Um, again,

[1:45:59] I'm willing to do the work. I have

[1:46:01] volunteers that are willing to do the

[1:46:03] work, and I have community members who

[1:46:06] are willing to invest in this

[1:46:07] opportunity. Thank you. Thank you, Miss

[1:46:10] White.

[1:46:13] » Further responses.

[1:46:14] >> I didn't get there yet.

[1:46:18] Uh response to comments from citizens.

[1:46:20] You go then Sean.

[1:46:22] >> Okay. Thank you.

[1:46:23] >> Were you all done?

[1:46:25] >> Okay.

[1:46:27] >> Um I would say as as a as a elected

[1:46:29] representative of the community, I don't

[1:46:32] care how you speak in this environment.

[1:46:35] People come from all sorts of different

[1:46:36] backgrounds. They have all different

[1:46:39] sorts of comfort levels with speaking

[1:46:40] publicly. Uh some people are are are

[1:46:44] loud speakers, demonstrative speakers.

[1:46:46] Other people speak very quietly, read

[1:46:48] from a very structured list. Other

[1:46:50] people like to go extemporaneously.

[1:46:53] Um we're not here to dictate terms of of communication. So I would I would

[1:46:59] colleagues

[1:47:00] >> response to comments from citizens or

[1:47:01] you responding to Mitch? I'm responding

[1:47:03] to the to the people that have spoken

[1:47:06] here tonight. So don't get discouraged,

[1:47:08] >> okay,

[1:47:09] >> about coming out and speaking. Come as

[1:47:11] you are. Speak as you may and we will

[1:47:14] filter through it. That's our

[1:47:16] responsibility as elected officials.

[1:47:18] Um

[1:47:20] question for the robotics team. Um the

[1:47:24] number change, I'm curious, you know,

[1:47:27] how it was communicated to you. Um, how

[1:47:31] it was represented to us was that it was

[1:47:33] contingent of it was part of a

[1:47:35] settlement agreement

[1:47:36] >> out of a lawsuit. And also it was

[1:47:39] represented to us that the F FRC was

[1:47:42] going to grant some sort of exeicio

[1:47:45] status to the 2168 number so that the

[1:47:47] 2291

[1:47:49] um would carry the legacy of 2168

[1:47:54] and would not be a detriment in grant

[1:47:58] applications and competition

[1:48:01] classifications. Is that correct? Could

[1:48:03] someone speak to that? Please come to

[1:48:05] the mic.

[1:48:09] So um at our um most recent meeting we

[1:48:12] were releasing informed by the coach

[1:48:13] that the team status 2168 have been

[1:48:16] changed to 2291 due to confidential

[1:48:18] reasons.

[1:48:19] >> They haven't some of our students do

[1:48:21] know some stuff about the lawsuit that

[1:48:23] has been going on but they haven't

[1:48:26] really explained to any students why

[1:48:28] it's happened. In addition, one big

[1:48:30] thing with the grants, um, while we do

[1:48:32] get to keep our team history, that name

[1:48:34] recognition 2168 is completely gone. So,

[1:48:39] a lot of our more local sponsors won't

[1:48:41] know what 2291 is, and that could still

[1:48:44] have a very negative impact on us.

[1:48:48] >> Was that given to you that that there's

[1:48:50] some way to to attach the 2168 as like

[1:48:53] formerly 2168, now 2291? To be honest,

[1:48:57] the the coaches haven't explained too

[1:48:59] much of it to to us yet. And they really

[1:49:02] gave us it was pretty much like a

[1:49:04] two-minute conversation with, oh, we're

[1:49:06] changing to 2291. And you really have

[1:49:08] said they're not allowed to tell us why.

[1:49:11] >> Um, all right. So, this is another

[1:49:14] question, I guess. Do you have something

[1:49:15] to add to that?

[1:49:16] >> Hi, my name is

[1:49:24] Okay.

[1:49:27] Oh, please.

[1:49:28] >> My name is Emily. My daughter is on the

[1:49:30] robotics team. I'm also the secretary

[1:49:32] for the board of the Aluminum Falcons

[1:49:34] robotics. Um, while the history is being

[1:49:38] worked on, I believe what I understand

[1:49:41] is that the way it attaches on their

[1:49:44] particular F FRC website is not in the

[1:49:46] exact capacity that we thought. I think

[1:49:49] we're still trying to work on that since

[1:49:50] this change was just last week. Um,

[1:49:53] however, it's my current understanding

[1:49:55] that our DOW grant um is not able to be

[1:49:59] transferred for our registration fees.

[1:50:01] Um, we're currently in contact with them

[1:50:03] to see if there's anything that can be

[1:50:04] done. Um, but we're not eligible for

[1:50:07] some other funding as well due to this

[1:50:09] change. Um, in addition, our students

[1:50:12] were going to participate in um what was

[1:50:15] the can you refresh my memory the name

[1:50:17] of the the impact award? Um, which was

[1:50:21] another um competition or

[1:50:25] what would you classify that as?

[1:50:27] >> Um more of just an award that a team

[1:50:29] >> recognize

[1:50:30] >> a team award um that students are

[1:50:32] eligible to participate in and apply

[1:50:34] for. They do a whole presentation for

[1:50:36] it. Uh we're also not able to

[1:50:38] participate in that due to this change.

[1:50:40] So there are multiple awards that the

[1:50:42] students would be eligible to

[1:50:44] participate in through FRC and first um

[1:50:48] that just because of this change they

[1:50:50] will not be able to do. Um our team was

[1:50:53] planning on applying and participating

[1:50:55] in the impact award this year. Um it's

[1:50:58] something that they've been working on

[1:50:59] for multiple years. Um you know up until

[1:51:02] this point unbeknownst to them how

[1:51:04] everything you know would play out. Um

[1:51:06] and unfortunately even through talking

[1:51:08] with first they're just there's no way

[1:51:12] they're able to do that this year.

[1:51:13] >> There's no mechanism within their

[1:51:15] framework at this point in time to deal

[1:51:16] with a name change under this sort of

[1:51:18] circumstance.

[1:51:20] uh for them to be able to participate in

[1:51:24] those certain process of first robotics,

[1:51:28] you have to have a certain number of

[1:51:30] years and number and veteran status.

[1:51:32] There's, you know, certain criteria for

[1:51:35] it and due to the changes that have

[1:51:36] happened um you know that are outside of

[1:51:39] the students control, there's multiple

[1:51:41] you know grants, opportunities, awards

[1:51:43] that they're not able to go for either

[1:51:45] individually as students or as a team.

[1:51:49] that doesn't correspond with my

[1:51:50] understanding of what was being

[1:51:52] developed as far as the agreement and

[1:51:54] what parameters uh that that I was

[1:51:57] understanding that that the team would

[1:51:59] be held harmless as far as that goes

[1:52:01] when it comes to seniority and all that.

[1:52:03] Um when we were briefed on the situation

[1:52:06] >> from my understanding yes there are

[1:52:08] certain things that have able to be

[1:52:10] worked out. However, there are certain

[1:52:12] things specifically I'm aware of the

[1:52:14] impact award that they are not eligible

[1:52:16] to participate in. Um, I know our

[1:52:18] students shared a little bit earlier and

[1:52:19] I certainly don't want to go off track.

[1:52:22] Um, but just the amount of funds that

[1:52:24] we're going to need to get the team on

[1:52:26] track for this year from we can't bring

[1:52:29] our trailer up to the competitions if

[1:52:32] it's got our, you know, our decal on the

[1:52:35] side of it. That's going to need to be

[1:52:37] pulled off and put back on. Um, anything

[1:52:39] that has our number on it at all is

[1:52:41] going to need to be, you know, whited

[1:52:44] out, sharpied out, make it be a new. We

[1:52:46] have banners that need to get hung up,

[1:52:48] you know, in each of our little shop

[1:52:51] areas when we're at competitions. All of

[1:52:53] that's going to need to be changed. Um,

[1:52:55] so in addition to the t-shirts, there

[1:52:57] are other things. Um, and and the number

[1:53:00] is very quite large. I'm kind of kind of

[1:53:03] as a parent astounded at the cost it's

[1:53:05] going to be on top of the other things

[1:53:06] as well. Um, Unfortunately, you know,

[1:53:10] the students aren't responsible for this

[1:53:12] at all and it's it's a very large

[1:53:14] number. So,

[1:53:15] >> all right, one more question, Ian, and

[1:53:16] then I'm going to move on.

[1:53:17] >> Would you feel comfortable or your group

[1:53:21] feel comfortable um creating an itemized

[1:53:23] list of all these in incurred expense?

[1:53:26] Do you have one?

[1:53:28] >> Is it May I share it?

[1:53:30] >> Is that comprehensive?

[1:53:31] >> Yeah. Uh from

[1:53:32] >> to the best of your knowledge.

[1:53:33] >> To the best of our knowledge right now,

[1:53:35] would you like me to

[1:53:36] >> please? Thanks.

[1:53:37] >> Share it with you. Do you have an

[1:53:38] electronic copy of this? You get emails

[1:53:40] to the whole board.

[1:53:41] >> Great. Thank you.

[1:53:42] >> And the superintendent so I can check

[1:53:44] with the lawyers,

[1:53:46] >> Sharon.

[1:53:47] >> Thank you.

[1:53:49] >> Let's make it official.

[1:53:51] >> Thank you. Uh, first I want to address

[1:53:54] the Fitch Falcons. Uh, gentlemen, thank

[1:53:56] you. You represented yourselves. You

[1:53:58] represented Jen Fitch. You represented

[1:54:00] your families very well. Um, thank you.

[1:54:03] I see your passion, your commitment, and

[1:54:06] I truly understand the impact that this

[1:54:08] robotics team has had on on your lives.

[1:54:10] So, thank you. Uh

[1:54:15] I hope we're able to come to a

[1:54:16] resolution how we can best support you

[1:54:18] soon. Um know you have a supporter here

[1:54:21] in me and I really appreciate you and

[1:54:24] hope that we're able to get you what you

[1:54:25] need so you can continue to dominate the

[1:54:27] competition and win as Fitch Falcons.

[1:54:30] Porsche, thank you for your words. Um, I

[1:54:34] think I I appreciate your passion, your

[1:54:35] commitment. I I think what you shared

[1:54:37] was very insightful, very helpful, but

[1:54:40] also at times very concerning. Um, so

[1:54:43] thank you for bringing those to our

[1:54:44] attention. And Miss White, uh, thank you

[1:54:47] for bringing that to our attention. We

[1:54:48] appreciate you and we will see what we

[1:54:50] can do to support.

[1:54:54] » Adrian.

[1:54:55] >> Yeah. Um, so I I'd just like to ask

[1:54:57] quick question. How many students

[1:55:00] participate in the robotics team like

[1:55:02] last year like on average?

[1:55:04] >> About 25.

[1:55:06] >> 25 students. And how much time do you

[1:55:09] think that you spend like individually

[1:55:12] um you know every year? Do you have any

[1:55:14] idea like how many hours?

[1:55:16] >> Well, yeah, you guys are great with

[1:55:18] keeping track of that stuff. So your

[1:55:19] business office and everything

[1:55:22] >> about 300

[1:55:24] >> 300 hours. Um, so and um and I I mean

[1:55:30] this is more of a question for the

[1:55:31] board, but I'd be interested in knowing

[1:55:33] how much the the district funds

[1:55:36] robotics. I mean, I know that you um

[1:55:39] sounds like the district may not fund

[1:55:41] robotics very much at all. Um and um I

[1:55:45] see we're building a you know a new

[1:55:47] football field which we really need. Um

[1:55:49] it's going to cost millions of dollars.

[1:55:52] Um we spend money on all of these sports

[1:55:54] that seem to get

[1:55:56] I'd love to see um you know how many how

[1:55:58] much we spend um and how many hours

[1:56:01] these students put into like baseball

[1:56:03] and football and basketball um and why

[1:56:06] the district doesn't support robotics

[1:56:08] more than um more than we do which seems

[1:56:11] like we escort you with a facility

[1:56:13] that's ever changing um and maybe not an

[1:56:17] op facility but um but I do appreciate

[1:56:20] you and um coming out and speaking up

[1:56:23] and and this is um a way to put it on

[1:56:26] the front burner again. So, I I

[1:56:27] appreciate this. Um and you know, as as

[1:56:30] you may know that we have an ad hoc ad

[1:56:33] hoc committee that's um looking into

[1:56:35] space and and um that committee is also

[1:56:38] going to be talking about what to do

[1:56:39] with the robotics field. Um and we're

[1:56:42] going to meet in a week and a half and

[1:56:44] hopefully it'll be on that agenda. Um

[1:56:48] so um one thing um I also want to um

[1:56:51] Porsche I I appreciate your speaking.

[1:56:54] You you pointed out a lot of important

[1:56:56] things and I appreciate your passion in

[1:56:58] speaking. So um um I you know I would

[1:57:02] rather hear what's going on and what

[1:57:04] your opinion is. So I appreciate that.

[1:57:06] Um one thing I'm a little bit uh

[1:57:07] concerned of well I'm a lot concerned

[1:57:10] about middle school sports. Um but um he

[1:57:12] made a statement that students were cut

[1:57:14] from track in middle school which um I

[1:57:17] believe we were just um met with the um

[1:57:21] met with um Mark Romano and I believe he

[1:57:25] said that no kids got cut from track or

[1:57:27] cross country. So that is a surprise to

[1:57:29] me. I I guess I would like to ask the

[1:57:31] superintendent to follow up on that. Um,

[1:57:34] you know, I've I've um raised concerns

[1:57:36] about um cutting cuts in soccer because

[1:57:40] it seems like lots of boys and girls

[1:57:41] want to play soccer and there's not

[1:57:43] nearly enough spots that are offered um

[1:57:46] where where when they you know and in

[1:57:48] these in again the um

[1:57:51] the difference between the the the

[1:57:53] halves and the have nots, the parents

[1:57:54] that can pay to send their kids to um to

[1:57:58] Graten Soccer Club, which isn't that

[1:57:59] expensive, but then when you get into

[1:58:00] those uh travel teams gets very

[1:58:02] expensive, very timeconuming cars in a

[1:58:05] lot of our district.

[1:58:06] >> Adrian, can I just um say we're only

[1:58:09] supposed to have clarifying questions on

[1:58:10] this portion unless we can go on and on. So, I don't mean to cut you off,

[1:58:14] but I just want to get us back on track

[1:58:16] because it's almost 7 o'clock already.

[1:58:19] >> Yeah, I I I All right, just let me one

[1:58:21] more thing.

[1:58:22] >> Is it a clarifying question?

[1:58:25] >> I appreciate the comments from Monica

[1:58:27] White about Friends of Fitch. And my

[1:58:30] clarifying question would be I don't

[1:58:32] understand I guess my question is can

[1:58:35] the district do this in the guidance

[1:58:37] department. We've heard that it doesn't

[1:58:39] work through food services. So I would

[1:58:40] like to know if the district can um give

[1:58:45] that group friends of fitch what they

[1:58:46] need. They they have raised money and

[1:58:48] want to do something for our kids. Our

[1:58:51] school system is a great path to find

[1:58:54] the kids in need. Um, and I don't

[1:58:56] understand why she's coming here to say

[1:58:58] that we have all of this money and all

[1:59:01] of this um to give the kids in need and we can't get it together on our end.

[1:59:05] So, I wouldn't

[1:59:06] >> Well, I'm going to ask the principal

[1:59:07] that. So, I already put that question

[1:59:09] down to ask the principal if they've

[1:59:12] done that work so that we can get those

[1:59:14] bags out to the kids.

[1:59:18] >> Anyone else? Mike?

[1:59:20] >> Yeah. Yeah. Just briefly on that. um the

[1:59:23] weekend meals. Um this has budget

[1:59:26] implications because we add in our

[1:59:27] budget for a time and then we

[1:59:29] >> have 4,000 reduced amount that the uh

[1:59:32] town council RTM approved. Um so could

[1:59:36] we um uh get an update each month on how

[1:59:41] many students are being served from from

[1:59:43] the schools by this weekend meals

[1:59:46] because it's we've got capacity for 70

[1:59:48] and we're at 15 and we've got a lot of

[1:59:50] room to grow. So if we have updates

[1:59:53] throughout it, we realize, oh, we're

[1:59:55] getting there. It just took a month to

[1:59:56] spin up. That's one thing. Or we're not

[1:59:58] getting there because we need someone

[2:00:00] dedicated, some dedicated staffing time.

[2:00:02] I guess that would that would be

[2:00:04] something very very good to put in the

[2:00:06] budget.

[2:00:06] >> Okay.

[2:00:08] >> Jay, is that it, Mike?

[2:00:10] >> Yeah.

[2:00:11] >> Jay,

[2:00:12] >> yes. Thank you very much. Um, I just

[2:00:14] want to quickly thank everyone who came

[2:00:16] out uh tonight at the main meeting as

[2:00:19] well as the meeting before. Um we we

[2:00:22] received a lot of important information,

[2:00:24] but my question would be um can we refer

[2:00:28] this impact uh to the um board attorney?

[2:00:34] Um I I'm just not sure that when the

[2:00:36] judge um signed this order that he

[2:00:40] understood the impact to the team and

[2:00:42] the community and um whether there'd be

[2:00:44] some opportunity for him to revisit

[2:00:47] um his order. Thank you.

[2:00:51] Jay.

[2:00:52] >> I will be sharing that letter with the

[2:00:54] board attorney, Jay.

[2:00:57] The the data that we've collected or

[2:00:59] that the team has collected and passed

[2:01:01] on to us. So,

[2:01:03] >> thanks.

[2:01:08] » Okay, Jen, you want any comments?

[2:01:11] >> Um, no. It's pretty much ditto to what

[2:01:14] it's pretty much the same as what my

[2:01:17] colleagues had mentioned, right? Thank

[2:01:19] you for taking the time to advocate for

[2:01:21] yourself, right, and speaking out

[2:01:24] because um if you don't share, we may

[2:01:27] not necessarily know. So, thank you for

[2:01:29] coming up very well spoken. Um

[2:01:32] understand the identity issues and um

[2:01:36] some of the comments that you have

[2:01:37] brought up. Um we are working on it. You

[2:01:40] know, Porsche, as always, we're working

[2:01:42] on most of the things that you have

[2:01:45] shared. Um so let it be known that maybe

[2:01:50] we can work a little bit more faster. Um

[2:01:53] but um things are being worked on and um we'll just keep everyone at breast.

[2:02:00] Thank you.

[2:02:03] Okay. Thank you everyone for coming out.

[2:02:06] I appreciate it. Appreciate your

[2:02:07] comments.

[2:02:10] Okay. The next item on the agenda is um

[2:02:14] student representative report. We had

[2:02:17] three new students and they were shared

[2:02:20] their bio and their selfie in the board

[2:02:23] notes. I hope everybody saw that. But

[2:02:26] when they did their report, they can uh

[2:02:29] give a brief bio if you'd like to tell

[2:02:31] us a little about yourself and then give

[2:02:33] your report.

[2:02:34] >> Thank you guys.

[2:02:38] » Uh who wants to go first? Evan, Gavin,

[2:02:42] Camila,

[2:02:43] >> I can start us off.

[2:02:44] >> Okay.

[2:02:49] I'm

[2:02:49] >> so sorry.

[2:02:50] >> And we are so happy to have these three

[2:02:53] young people representing the students.

[2:02:55] And I just want to say really feel free

[2:02:58] to speak honestly. The board appreciates

[2:03:00] honesty. We want to hear what you have

[2:03:03] to say. You are here to represent the

[2:03:05] students and I'm hoping that whatever

[2:03:08] you say, even If it's negative, there'll

[2:03:10] be no retaliation against you cuz we

[2:03:14] want to hear what you have to say. So,

[2:03:16] we want you to be honest, good, bad, and

[2:03:18] the ugly. Tell us. Okay.

[2:03:21] >> Thank you, Miss Washington.

[2:03:23] >> I will be starting off the student

[2:03:24] representatives. My name is Camila Borea

[2:03:27] and I am a junior at Robert E. Fitch

[2:03:29] High School. I signed up for this

[2:03:32] position because I am a proud advocate

[2:03:34] to student life as an average student

[2:03:37] and also previously as a beloved average

[2:03:40] student. As someone who has struggled

[2:03:41] with food insecurity and economic

[2:03:43] problems, I have wanted to come here to

[2:03:45] mainly speak about underprivileged

[2:03:47] students and any students who are having

[2:03:49] issues. That is why I signed up for this

[2:03:51] role. Other things about me that don't

[2:03:54] include my role as a student board of

[2:03:56] education representative. I am a proud

[2:03:58] theater member and I am also holding a a

[2:04:02] leader position in this club called more

[2:04:04] than words. It is an advocacy club as

[2:04:06] well and I am proud to say I always

[2:04:09] speak out for my beliefs and what is

[2:04:13] right for the others. Thank you.

[2:04:19] » Thank you.

[2:04:20] >> Uh my name is Gavin Frost. Uh I am a

[2:04:23] student representative. I just signed up

[2:04:26] for this position because I would like

[2:04:27] to represent the students needs and

[2:04:28] wants. Um I am a junior at Fitch High

[2:04:33] School. Um I am now the vice president

[2:04:37] for the class of 2028.

[2:04:39] Um and I do lacrosse and that's about

[2:04:43] it.

[2:04:46] Excuse me. Um hello everybody. I'm Evan

[2:04:49] Veter. I'm also a junior at Fitch High

[2:04:51] School. And the reason that I decided to

[2:04:56] um try to become a representative is

[2:04:58] because last year I was asked by the

[2:05:02] Fitch principal to speak at a town

[2:05:04] meeting and a board of ed meeting. And I

[2:05:07] really enjoyed um getting to see how

[2:05:12] decisions are made on the district level

[2:05:13] and I enjoyed the feeling of having my

[2:05:16] voice heard. Um a little bit about

[2:05:18] myself. Um, I'm very involved at our

[2:05:21] school. I'm the president of Key Club,

[2:05:24] the vice president of students against

[2:05:27] destructive decisions. I'm part of

[2:05:29] theater elected. I was elected today as

[2:05:32] the treasurer for the class of 2028.

[2:05:34] >> Congratulations.

[2:05:35] >> Thank you. So, Gavin was also elected

[2:05:37] today. Um, and but yes, I'm very excited

[2:05:42] to work with all of you this year. And

[2:05:44] I'll turn it over to Gavin for our

[2:05:46] reports.

[2:05:49] Um okay. Uh so the start to school went

[2:05:52] uh pretty well so far. It hasn't been

[2:05:55] too long. Um students were first met

[2:05:58] with a small issue which we thought was

[2:06:00] a larger issue at the beginning. Um the

[2:06:03] schedule was changed. Um the fourth

[2:06:05] block was frozen in place for our um

[2:06:10] uh career pathways so they could get

[2:06:12] more access to uh internships.

[2:06:16] Um, so at first we were worried about

[2:06:18] that because we heard from a couple of

[2:06:19] our AP classes that our tests and a

[2:06:22] couple of our grades would be impacted

[2:06:23] if we had to miss school um during that

[2:06:27] fourth block and or uh athletes or

[2:06:30] anyone had to leave early during that

[2:06:32] last block. They could not take the test

[2:06:33] that day. They would have to take it the

[2:06:35] next Thursday after school and miss

[2:06:38] maybe a practice or a game. So, at first

[2:06:40] we thought that was an issue and then um

[2:06:44] and then the school administration and

[2:06:46] the students, we all adapted and we've

[2:06:48] gotten used to it. So, it's like still

[2:06:50] on our minds. So, if anything comes up

[2:06:53] about it, we'll bring it up to you, but

[2:06:55] it's not that big of a deal at the

[2:06:57] moment.

[2:06:59] Um so, yeah, that is what we me met with

[2:07:02] at first. um we probably have heard

[2:07:05] about in the past and it's still

[2:07:07] currently going on and tech issues

[2:07:09] currently happening at the moment. Um if

[2:07:11] it's just between students or teachers,

[2:07:13] the teachers their boards will be

[2:07:15] shutting off randomly throughout

[2:07:17] teaching. Um and I it looks like it's

[2:07:20] the board but I'm pretty sure it's more

[2:07:22] of the computers issue because the board

[2:07:23] is still active and on but the computer

[2:07:26] just turns off and the teachers have to

[2:07:27] log back in and it takes maybe at a

[2:07:30] minute to five minutes out of teaching

[2:07:32] times which which a larger disturbance.

[2:07:36] Um, talking on the AC, which I know you

[2:07:39] bring up, um, Jim and in the older

[2:07:42] building, we're getting reports that the

[2:07:43] AC isn't working in the older part of

[2:07:45] the building and it's making uh,

[2:07:49] >> Yes.

[2:07:49] >> Okay. It's making students

[2:07:50] uncomfortable, especially with medical

[2:07:52] issues. Um, it's making them like like

[2:07:56] their medical stuff is acting up.

[2:07:59] Uh, that's about our tech issues.

[2:08:02] Um then castle lunches which you ask all

[2:08:05] of us to bring up to the school and ask

[2:08:07] the students at how they like that or

[2:08:09] not. The school and the students do not

[2:08:12] like that at all. Um they are very

[2:08:16] against it because it's limiting them from getting lunches and

[2:08:20] getting um getting snacks at the end too

[2:08:24] if they're still hungry because they

[2:08:25] can't go to the lunch lines and then pay

[2:08:28] with cash. They have to play pay with

[2:08:29] the online version.

[2:08:31] Um, and I have um some quotes, not

[2:08:35] really quotes, they're they're taken

[2:08:37] from students, but they're not directly

[2:08:39] quoted. Um, some students are having

[2:08:41] issues because uh maybe their parents

[2:08:43] have been separated and one parent might

[2:08:46] know about this account, but the other

[2:08:47] parent may not know about this account.

[2:08:49] So, one parent will be constantly

[2:08:51] filling it up and taking on that burden

[2:08:53] um filling it up with the money. So the

[2:08:55] student can eat what the other parent

[2:08:58] might not doesn't know about it and

[2:08:59] cannot use the money they get from that

[2:09:01] parent at the lunch lines because they

[2:09:03] no longer accept cash.

[2:09:06] Um also we're hearing that from parents

[2:09:09] and from teachers that to fill up the

[2:09:12] account it takes uh some amount of

[2:09:14] money. So if their parents have a

[2:09:16] limited amount of money and they would

[2:09:18] like to fill up the accounts with a

[2:09:20] certain amount of money that that might

[2:09:22] stipen that little amount that might get

[2:09:24] taken out of that would limit a little

[2:09:26] bit at least one lunch from each student

[2:09:29] which is a little concerning to the

[2:09:31] parents and to the students.

[2:09:34] Um, another somewhat quote, um, if a

[2:09:38] student, like I said, if student wants

[2:09:39] to get a snack from the snack line if

[2:09:41] they're not hungry or if they are hungry

[2:09:43] after they've eaten, um, they can't

[2:09:45] because they don't want their money in

[2:09:47] their account to be running out and they

[2:09:49] don't want to accidentally spend it on

[2:09:51] that like that little snack if they want

[2:09:54] lunch for the next day.

[2:09:58] Um, then I wanted to go over some

[2:10:00] classroom stuff we had going on with

[2:10:03] safety protocols.

[2:10:05] Um, so we had I believe about two

[2:10:09] classroom secure calls, maybe three

[2:10:12] because they believe there was two

[2:10:15] fights. Yeah, there's three classroom

[2:10:17] secure calls because there was um two

[2:10:19] fights. I believe one of them was

[2:10:21] between two girls in the front hallway.

[2:10:23] So classroom secure um was called

[2:10:25] through that and this was at the

[2:10:26] beginning of the day and then a fight

[2:10:29] between two male students I believe for

[2:10:31] some altercation occurred um at in the

[2:10:35] last block right as we everyone was

[2:10:37] getting to the blocks between passing

[2:10:39] periods and our SR offer bisque had to

[2:10:43] um pin the students against the wall to

[2:10:45] stop the fighting and stop the arguing.

[2:10:48] So that was not right. And then we had

[2:10:52] two fire drills because the first time

[2:10:55] we had the fire drill, the fire alarm

[2:10:57] failed and it did not go off in most

[2:11:00] parts of the building. I believe it went

[2:11:02] off uh maybe in the older part, but in

[2:11:04] the newer parts, the fire alarms didn't

[2:11:06] go off, but we were able

[2:11:09] because the an accident went off and

[2:11:12] they said their fire drill was currently

[2:11:13] happening.

[2:11:14] left and then the next day another fire

[2:11:16] drill happened and I believe it went off

[2:11:19] perfectly. Um I got a report from one

[2:11:22] student that it didn't go off in the

[2:11:25] music areas but because I haven't heard

[2:11:28] anything from any other students and I

[2:11:30] haven't heard anything from the

[2:11:31] administration I believe it just went

[2:11:33] fine. Um that was our safety stuff that

[2:11:37] went happened so far this year this

[2:11:39] year.

[2:11:41] Um the administration I want to talk

[2:11:42] about that has been really good. Uh when

[2:11:45] we speak to the principal and the vice

[2:11:47] principal they've been very communicated

[2:11:51] they've communicated well back to us and

[2:11:54] spoken well to us about our needs and

[2:11:56] answer our questions. And I want to talk

[2:11:59] about the um

[2:12:04] the guidance counsel in a way. Um, one

[2:12:07] experience that I had, um, is when the

[2:12:10] guidance counselor came in to help us

[2:12:12] sign in for Yukon classes. We have to do

[2:12:15] that to get credit for them. Um, they

[2:12:17] spoke bad and they run us through. It

[2:12:19] was really easy. We all signed up for

[2:12:21] that. But then at the end, she said

[2:12:23] because it costs about $200 to sign up

[2:12:25] for that class and to get that credit.

[2:12:28] um she said if if the students are

[2:12:30] having difficulties paying that amount

[2:12:31] of money, they can go and find the the

[2:12:35] um guidance counselors in a private time

[2:12:37] and the guidance counselors can fi

[2:12:39] hopefully find a way to help pay for

[2:12:41] that students. I thought was really good

[2:12:44] and a good thing to report.

[2:12:46] Um one of the last things is um

[2:12:50] uh literacy.

[2:12:52] Um I know a lot of students have

[2:12:54] difficulty with literacy and reading and

[2:12:56] writing and uh speaking a lot to

[2:12:59] students uh most students believe it's

[2:13:01] because the school system has failed

[2:13:03] them. Um whether it is because they do

[2:13:06] not have um just don't have the proper

[2:13:09] resources with the teachers or the

[2:13:11] teachers may not be teaching the things

[2:13:13] that they want to learn about with the

[2:13:15] reading and writing.

[2:13:18] Um, and they don't have phonics as well,

[2:13:20] which is a major thing. I myself, I'm

[2:13:23] dyslexic, heavily dyslexic. And I was,

[2:13:26] they found out I was dyslexic in the

[2:13:27] third grade, which is pretty late for

[2:13:30] that to be taught and helpfully get

[2:13:32] fixed and learn the ways of kind of

[2:13:35] trying to mediate dyslexia.

[2:13:38] Um, and it was just a big upset because

[2:13:42] my parents knew something was wrong and

[2:13:44] they tried to communicate that to the

[2:13:46] teachers. the teachers kind of brushed

[2:13:48] them off through kindergarten and second

[2:13:50] grade because they didn't believe

[2:13:51] anything was going on or anything was

[2:13:52] happening.

[2:13:54] Um, and then even countless others

[2:13:58] without disabilities um have struggled

[2:14:00] with reading and writing and making

[2:14:02] essays and even like getting into

[2:14:04] college at some points. They just have

[2:14:06] difficulty with that. And when I was

[2:14:10] going over the attachment one, which we

[2:14:12] will be going over um the state summary

[2:14:15] of assessment results for mainly the ELA

[2:14:18] portion,

[2:14:19] >> um I was looking over some parts and it

[2:14:22] said um the highest one of the highest

[2:14:25] percentages we have is 65%.

[2:14:29] which is rather low because when you do

[2:14:32] research on this topic um like I've

[2:14:35] spoken to a lot of teachers about this

[2:14:37] mainly ELA teachers um understanding and

[2:14:41] learning happens at 80% and if most of

[2:14:45] our students are well below that I don't

[2:14:47] think they understand what's going on at

[2:14:48] all and this assessment was between

[2:14:50] grades three and 11 and then the maximum

[2:14:53] climb in progress was about 10%

[2:14:57] um through last year to this year, which

[2:15:00] I also doubt was low. I would hope for

[2:15:02] something more. I know this is a massive

[2:15:03] topic to be discussing and I don't

[2:15:06] expect to fix it this year or even in

[2:15:09] the next 10 or five years, especially

[2:15:11] not with my position, but I hope to

[2:15:13] bring something forth to try to mediate

[2:15:16] this. Um

[2:15:18] because I feel like this issue kind of

[2:15:20] stems from the disconnect between um

[2:15:23] central office and the teachers and the

[2:15:25] students. Um speaking to the students

[2:15:29] and teachers, the teachers say that

[2:15:31] central office hasn't been really

[2:15:32] meeting with them at all, which is a

[2:15:34] little bit concerning.

[2:15:36] Um, and I wanted to recommend something

[2:15:39] to the board. Something that uh El Paso

[2:15:43] Independent School District did was they

[2:15:46] had the at least the high officials. I

[2:15:49] don't they they said everybody, but I'm

[2:15:51] pretty sure the high officials that

[2:15:52] worked in their central office, they had

[2:15:55] everyone do at least um two days of

[2:15:59] subbing in one school or in some schools

[2:16:02] to get connected with the teachers and

[2:16:04] the students to actually know what

[2:16:05] they're going with and what they're

[2:16:06] struggling. And from what they did, it

[2:16:10] helped them connect with the students

[2:16:11] and the teachers and know what's

[2:16:13] actually going on in the schools. And it

[2:16:15] also saved them some money on subs

[2:16:17] because I know I was the financial

[2:16:20] meeting we went we nearly doubled the

[2:16:22] amount of money that was selected for

[2:16:23] subs. It was about like 900,000 and we

[2:16:26] went to $2 million for subs, which is a

[2:16:29] lot. Um, so maybe this could reduce that

[2:16:33] budget, but mainly to connect teachers

[2:16:36] and students to people working in the

[2:16:38] central office that make these outlines

[2:16:41] for teaching.

[2:16:45] >> Thank you, Danny. Um, can I vote?

[2:16:48] >> Yeah. I would also like to focus a

[2:16:52] little more specifically on the tech

[2:16:54] issues which I'm sure the board has

[2:16:56] heard extensively about but student

[2:16:58] Chromebooks have been and continue to be

[2:17:00] a very big issue to the point where a

[2:17:05] lot of students including myself are

[2:17:06] like unable to do our classwork because

[2:17:09] our computers are just so slow and

[2:17:11] cannot run most things. And I've

[2:17:16] definitely been in the position where

[2:17:17] I'm in class and a teacher will give us

[2:17:19] like five minutes to do the work on our

[2:17:21] Chromebook and they'll say, "Okay,

[2:17:24] time's up." And my computer hasn't even

[2:17:25] loaded yet. And I know the junior class

[2:17:29] specifically has been told for about the

[2:17:32] past three years that we'd be getting

[2:17:34] new Chromebooks and we have yet to check

[2:17:38] them or hear anything about them. And

[2:17:40] also chargers are an incredibly large

[2:17:45] issue. A lot of students in the school

[2:17:46] do not have chargers and are like unable

[2:17:50] to charge their Chromebooks and the

[2:17:52] teachers don't have chargers to provide

[2:17:54] them. And I know at the by the end of

[2:17:59] last year, the library was also out of

[2:18:01] chargers. So if a student went to the

[2:18:03] library to ask for a charger, they'd be

[2:18:04] turned away. And so Chromebooks and

[2:18:08] chargers are a very large issue in the

[2:18:11] school.

[2:18:14] » Thank you.

[2:18:15] >> I'm sorry. I just needed to raise my

[2:18:16] hand to say I need to excuse myself out

[2:18:18] of this meeting. I'm so glad you have

[2:18:19] had me as a representative even though I

[2:18:21] have not spoken. I just need to excuse

[2:18:24] myself out since Brad is here and I'm

[2:18:25] compromised with someone needing to

[2:18:27] drive me instead of being able to drive

[2:18:28] myself. I'm so sorry I had to leave so

[2:18:30] early.

[2:18:30] >> Thank you.

[2:18:32] >> Thanks for coming. If you have anything

[2:18:34] that you want to address to the board,

[2:18:37] just email it to me and I'll send it out

[2:18:39] to the board members.

[2:18:40] >> Okay. Thank you so much.

[2:18:41] >> You're welcome.

[2:18:44] >> Uh I think that's everything we had to

[2:18:46] cover.

[2:18:48] >> Thank you. And Jane,

[2:18:51] >> um before Camila leaves, thank you. You

[2:18:54] know, was part of that interview

[2:18:55] process. um all three of you presented

[2:18:58] your self-love and even just with your

[2:19:01] first time here, thank you for

[2:19:03] everything that you've shared. I know

[2:19:04] you have to leave and I do have a

[2:19:06] question, but I wanted to say that

[2:19:07] before before you left and um the two

[2:19:12] remaining student reps, um last year

[2:19:15] when Beverly and I tooured um in

[2:19:18] particular, we noticed an issue with the

[2:19:21] restroom facilities. Um, is that still

[2:19:24] sort of like a safe zone or is it like

[2:19:27] students are a little

[2:19:30] >> terrified to to go and because that's

[2:19:32] like a safety concern that I wanted to

[2:19:35] follow up on.

[2:19:36] >> Yeah, that was definitely something we

[2:19:37] were meaning to speak about but uh

[2:19:40] forgot to. Uh, so yeah, the restrooms

[2:19:43] are really bad. Uh, they keep getting

[2:19:45] destroyed by students which is the

[2:19:47] students fault of course and people

[2:19:50] smoking in the bathrooms and vaping. and

[2:19:52] just doing whatever they want to the

[2:19:54] bathrooms, which is a big concern

[2:19:56] because most students just don't want to

[2:19:58] go to the bathroom. They hold it until

[2:20:00] they get home, especially me. Like, I'll

[2:20:02] only go to the bathrooms at school for

[2:20:03] emergencies because they are like rather

[2:20:06] disgusting and destroyed by the students

[2:20:08] and they kind of just smell like weed

[2:20:09] the whole time.

[2:20:12] >> Thank you.

[2:20:14] >> Also, one specific issue with the

[2:20:16] bathrooms, at least a lot of the boys

[2:20:17] bathrooms, the stalls don't lock. Um,

[2:20:20] especially in the vintage wing, the

[2:20:22] vintage boys bathroom, not a single one

[2:20:24] of those stalls lock. In the 2200's boys

[2:20:27] bathroom, the entire stall is bent to a

[2:20:31] point that you can't close the door or

[2:20:33] lock it. Um, the toilets are always a

[2:20:37] nightmare. One of the bathrooms, the

[2:20:38] toilet seat was completely ripped off

[2:20:40] and put in the toilet. And again, most

[2:20:43] of these are student issues um with the

[2:20:45] students facing the bathrooms, but like

[2:20:49] I 99% of the time do not feel

[2:20:51] comfortable walking into those bathrooms

[2:20:53] because they're practically unusable.

[2:20:56] And also like Gavin said, people smoke

[2:20:59] in the bathrooms a lot. And especially

[2:21:02] during lunch, you cannot use the vintage

[2:21:05] boys bathroom because people will be

[2:21:08] smoking in it.

[2:21:10] >> Thank you for sharing. Um, I know we had

[2:21:13] like the vaping sensors put up

[2:21:16] >> and I don't know if they're destroyed or

[2:21:18] intentionally turned off, but I would

[2:21:20] like that investigated, please.

[2:21:22] >> They're destroyed.

[2:21:24] >> They're probably I haven't seen them, so

[2:21:27] they're probably just destroyed.

[2:21:28] >> Sam, we can look into that.

[2:21:29] >> Perfect. Thank you.

[2:21:31] >> Yeah, because we heard that they were

[2:21:34] that the principal somebody covers them

[2:21:36] up because they keep going off all the

[2:21:38] time. So I don't know if they destroyed

[2:21:40] or they just are not being used because

[2:21:44] they keep going off all the time.

[2:21:47] >> Yeah. So

[2:21:49] >> from a health issue, I don't want you

[2:21:51] guys to not go for like eight hours. So

[2:21:53] I we need to

[2:21:55] addiction.

[2:21:56] >> We need to look into this and just keep

[2:21:58] us posted and yeah, it's always like on

[2:22:02] the back of my mind.

[2:22:03] >> Thank you,

[2:22:04] >> Sean. Thank you, Jen. I just want to say

[2:22:06] thank you for for addressing these

[2:22:08] concerns today. Um, these aren't all

[2:22:11] things that the board is aware of. Um,

[2:22:13] so if you could continue to be honest

[2:22:16] and share honest feedback from from your

[2:22:19] fellow students and and let us get a

[2:22:21] better understanding of what you're

[2:22:22] dealing with, this is very concerning a

[2:22:24] lot of what you brought to us tonight.

[2:22:26] There were some good points. I like to

[2:22:28] see that. But um, thank you for bringing

[2:22:30] that. I I will need to excuse myself

[2:22:32] from this meeting as well,

[2:22:33] unfortunately.

[2:22:34] Thank you and continue to come and

[2:22:36] advocate for your fellow students.

[2:22:38] >> Of course. Thank you.

[2:22:40] >> Mitch A.

[2:22:44] » A Mitch.

[2:22:46] >> Um yeah, just um as far as I appreciate

[2:22:51] uh your honesty and in telling us what's

[2:22:52] going on. I have student one students

[2:22:55] left at so I hear a little bit of what's

[2:22:56] going on, but I love hearing their

[2:22:58] perspective of it. Um, do as far as the

[2:23:01] bathrooms go, do the security guards

[2:23:03] check the bathrooms?

[2:23:04] >> Uh, security guards check the bathrooms

[2:23:06] when they can, definitely during

[2:23:07] lunches, the direct uh one of the direct

[2:23:10] hallway bathrooms is like right

[2:23:12] next to them. So, there would be a

[2:23:14] security guard like right near that

[2:23:15] bathroom, but it doesn't stop students

[2:23:17] really like doing whatever they want.

[2:23:19] Um, the security guards don't really

[2:23:22] walk into the bathroom as much. I don't

[2:23:23] know if they feel uncomfortable doing

[2:23:25] that themselves or they just don't want

[2:23:26] to walk in on students doing whatever.

[2:23:30] I don't know.

[2:23:31] >> So, so in your experience, the security

[2:23:33] guards don't actually enter the

[2:23:34] bathrooms

[2:23:36] to be able to catch students or

[2:23:39] >> Yeah. Unless they hear something, I

[2:23:41] doubt they'll go into the bathrooms. Um,

[2:23:43] in passing times, bathroom use is not

[2:23:46] allowed at all. So, there might be

[2:23:47] security guards walking in there at that

[2:23:49] time.

[2:23:51] >> All right. Thank you.

[2:23:54] >> I just wanted to say I think you guys

[2:23:56] did a great job.

[2:23:57] >> Thank you. a lot. Listen to it. Thank

[2:23:59] you.

[2:24:02] >> Oh, you go here first.

[2:24:03] >> Okay. Um, well, thank you all and and

[2:24:06] Camila and Absentia for coming out. Um,

[2:24:10] and I agree with all the other concerns

[2:24:14] as far as like what my colleagues have

[2:24:16] brought up as far as the bathrooms and all that. Uh, that's been an ongoing

[2:24:20] problem and um, it's good information to

[2:24:23] get on a ground level what the student

[2:24:25] experience is. Um, but what I really

[2:24:29] keyed in on with with your comments and

[2:24:31] very thankfully you brought it up was

[2:24:33] the uh the phonics

[2:24:35] >> you identifying phonics and the

[2:24:37] struggles of literacy um with uh you're saying basically your your class

[2:24:42] range, right? like you within a couple

[2:24:44] years of your class. Um because we uh

[2:24:49] you know just recently over the past

[2:24:51] three years we've been implementing a

[2:24:53] new literacy program down low from the K

[2:24:55] to3 grades trying to to get back to more

[2:24:58] fundamental phonics instruction and um

[2:25:01] you know I'm a certified teacher and

[2:25:02] special educator myself and um I've

[2:25:06] worked with a number of students that

[2:25:07] have literacy struggles and and um

[2:25:10] possible dyslexia possibly not. it's

[2:25:12] hard to determine that um but one thing

[2:25:15] I found that that breaks through a lot

[2:25:17] of barriers is explicit instruction in

[2:25:20] phonics um showing the mechanical way to

[2:25:23] break down words to decode words and

[2:25:26] then that leads into root words and

[2:25:28] suffixes and prefixes and and so I'm I'm

[2:25:30] very glad to hear that you're aware of

[2:25:32] that and and that you know it's

[2:25:35] unfortunate because one of the questions

[2:25:36] we had when we talked about the literacy

[2:25:38] programs is what are we doing to to make

[2:25:40] up for those who didn't get that

[2:25:43] explicit instruction um when we were

[2:25:45] still um stuck on the uh the site word

[2:25:48] stuff and and whatever that other

[2:25:51] Tomkins program was. Um,

[2:25:55] so

[2:25:57] one of the things that we were hoping

[2:25:59] that the paras and there there there

[2:26:01] would be some more supports on the upper

[2:26:03] levels to help like reconstitute

[2:26:06] what people didn't get, you know,

[2:26:08] because there is a gap. There's a gap

[2:26:10] generation coming through the schools

[2:26:12] that are not getting the literacy

[2:26:13] program that that is in place now. Um,

[2:26:16] so I'd like to hear more about that over

[2:26:18] time. um you know your observations and

[2:26:21] interacting with your peers. Um are

[2:26:24] people finding access to supports? Are

[2:26:27] they aware that perhaps if they're

[2:26:29] struggling with you know vocabulary um

[2:26:32] context clue or you know figuring out

[2:26:35] words and context and um you know just

[2:26:38] being able to decode and write and

[2:26:40] construct sentences. Are they being

[2:26:43] offered explicit instruction support um

[2:26:46] how to like structurally put together

[2:26:48] sentences? how to structure put together

[2:26:50] words and and and then paragraphs

[2:26:53] >> or words, sentences, paragraphs, I

[2:26:54] should say. Um,

[2:26:57] you may not have that information now,

[2:26:58] but I I think it'd be interesting to

[2:27:00] kind of track that over the year to see

[2:27:02] like what you're experiencing on the

[2:27:03] upper levels, what your peers are

[2:27:04] experiencing, what sort of supports are

[2:27:06] available um to help kind of bridge that

[2:27:09] gap.

[2:27:10] >> Unfortunately, at our level, we are not

[2:27:12] experiencing any of that. The pairs um

[2:27:15] they're there to help out, but they

[2:27:17] can't really help with They just help

[2:27:18] with what their directive is and it's

[2:27:21] mostly just the students who need help

[2:27:23] getting around and some of them just

[2:27:26] need help acting.

[2:27:28] >> Um, and honestly at our point we're kind

[2:27:32] of lost with all of that. We can't

[2:27:34] there's nothing we can really do at this

[2:27:36] point to help this as you said this like

[2:27:38] gap. Um, so it's really unfortunate and

[2:27:43] I've spoken to teachers and they are

[2:27:46] very disappointed that a lot of us don't

[2:27:48] have phonics and it's not it wasn't

[2:27:51] being used and very good deal that it is

[2:27:53] being used now. A lot of teachers will

[2:27:54] be happy about that,

[2:27:55] >> right?

[2:27:56] >> But it doesn't do much for the people

[2:27:57] that are in the upper grades now

[2:27:59] unfortunately. So perhaps that's

[2:28:00] something we should look into when we

[2:28:02] come into the budget year

[2:28:04] um and figure out a way to better

[2:28:07] support our upper grades that do not get

[2:28:09] the explicit instruction in phonics and

[2:28:11] mechanics. So thank you.

[2:28:14] >> Please keep us a breast of what's

[2:28:15] happening. We'll do what we can on our

[2:28:17] end.

[2:28:18] >> Thanks Mike.

[2:28:20] >> Thank you all for your reports and

[2:28:22] sharing a little about yourself as well.

[2:28:24] Um I especially appreciate you sharing

[2:28:27] your personal journey through the

[2:28:28] education system and I think uh the

[2:28:31] special education particularly like

[2:28:33] early identification is really

[2:28:36] important. Um, and we do now have a

[2:28:39] districtwide

[2:28:41] special education committee uh with

[2:28:44] board representative on that. And I

[2:28:47] think um uh a very important topic to

[2:28:51] have soon would be just that um how can

[2:28:54] we make sure that we have the earliest

[2:28:57] identification possible. Some of that u

[2:29:00] comes from having new prek programs

[2:29:03] actually in Morrison has going to help

[2:29:05] considerably. Um but also um how we can

[2:29:10] break down barriers um um to having that

[2:29:14] timeline be shorter because every time

[2:29:16] it happens it impacts uh that students

[2:29:20] education um throughout throughout their

[2:29:23] time here. Uh, and so at at times I

[2:29:26] think um well I know at times that um

[2:29:29] the timeline's been too long and uh and

[2:29:32] so hopefully we can better serve

[2:29:35] everyone. So thank you.

[2:29:37] >> Thank you.

[2:29:38] >> Okay. Go ahead.

[2:29:39] >> Quick followup also on the tech thing.

[2:29:42] Um you mentioned like the smartboard

[2:29:45] shutting off and it seeming to be

[2:29:46] related to the the computer. Um

[2:29:50] not to oversimplify. Oh thank you. Um, I

[2:29:54] don't down.

[2:29:56] >> Okay. So, it may just be a matter of

[2:29:58] like uh making sure that we have better

[2:30:00] fidelity and integrity on our end if

[2:30:02] we're training the staff to make sure

[2:30:03] that they know how to adjust the sleep

[2:30:04] timers on their computers. Um, so

[2:30:08] exactly what I was thinking of bringing

[2:30:09] up to the school because I believe

[2:30:11] that's kind of just where that issue

[2:30:13] stems. Of course, there's a ton of other

[2:30:14] issues with the internet and computers

[2:30:17] being slow throughout overall, but I'm

[2:30:19] pretty sure it's just the sleep timers

[2:30:21] on most of the computers. Yeah. Yes. But

[2:30:24] also I know um staff computers I've

[2:30:27] heard are also equally as bad as student

[2:30:31] computers. And specifically in regards

[2:30:34] to the Smartboards, the biggest issue

[2:30:36] this year, which is probably out of all

[2:30:38] of your hands, is that they no longer

[2:30:40] support Google apps. And so a lot of

[2:30:43] teachers are now struggling to use the

[2:30:47] boards in the way that they have in the

[2:30:49] past because they they can't use Google

[2:30:53] Drive, Google Slides or anything else

[2:30:55] that

[2:30:56] >> teachers are getting ready to have

[2:30:58] refresh on all their computers through a

[2:31:00] Department of Defense education activity

[2:31:02] supplemental fund which we get half a

[2:31:04] million dollars and we're also

[2:31:08] purchasing Chromebooks for kids. So

[2:31:10] those are coming too. So, just know that

[2:31:13] um you know, we had to get those funds

[2:31:15] first before we could make the purchase,

[2:31:16] but we're making the purchase now.

[2:31:19] >> Dr. Nine wants to say something.

[2:31:21] >> I also appreciate all the comments from

[2:31:23] uh the people who came tonight,

[2:31:24] including, of course, our students

[2:31:26] representatives. So, thank you for that.

[2:31:27] I want to make sure that um you know, I

[2:31:30] address things when I hear them that are

[2:31:33] um maybe not completely accurate um and

[2:31:38] or or just some things that you just

[2:31:40] might not be aware of. So, um, our

[2:31:42] teachers recently had, especially in

[2:31:44] certain departments had, um,

[2:31:47] professional learning in science or

[2:31:49] reading. And I'm so glad that you

[2:31:50] brought that up because there is a whole

[2:31:52] cohort of students, particularly of your

[2:31:54] age level, that did not, you know, learn

[2:31:57] phonics in the same way that our younger

[2:31:59] students are currently, right, where

[2:32:01] we're starting to see some improvements.

[2:32:03] And I agree with you, Gavin, that you

[2:32:05] know, we have a lot of work to do, a lot

[2:32:06] of growing to do, but we're starting to

[2:32:08] see some of those results uh based on

[2:32:10] the instruction that we're doing now.

[2:32:12] So, um you know, um contrary to what you

[2:32:16] might have heard, we are meeting with

[2:32:17] some of our teachers. And as a result of

[2:32:19] those meetings, one of the things that I

[2:32:21] heard loud and clear from both our

[2:32:23] social studies department and the

[2:32:25] English department, both at the middle

[2:32:27] school and at the high school, was that

[2:32:28] they wanted that training. And so they

[2:32:30] were recently in the August professional

[2:32:33] learning. Um both of those departments

[2:32:35] received um some training initial

[2:32:38] training in science of reading and I

[2:32:40] believe as a followup the English

[2:32:43] department it might be both but

[2:32:46] definitely the English department is

[2:32:48] going to do a second training. I don't

[2:32:50] think it's November might be coming up

[2:32:52] um in an additional one um as a followup

[2:32:55] because they they told me they wanted

[2:32:57] more. So we do meet with our teachers.

[2:33:00] You know, it might not be exactly, you

[2:33:02] know, it might be certain focus groups

[2:33:03] or it might just be the leaders. It's

[2:33:05] hard to meet with all of our faculty

[2:33:07] members at once. Um, but we do have uh

[2:33:11] committees that meet with us. We call it

[2:33:13] the GTLC committee. They let me know,

[2:33:16] you know, I think that this department

[2:33:18] we can use this professional learning or

[2:33:21] it might be I'm meeting with department

[2:33:22] leaders. Um I meet with uh actually just

[2:33:26] met with them last week when Mr. Brown

[2:33:28] met with the department heads. Sometimes

[2:33:30] I meet with them one-on-one or in small

[2:33:33] groups. So there might be somebody that

[2:33:36] you know gets missed during those

[2:33:38] conversations but you know those

[2:33:39] conversations do happen and as a result

[2:33:42] of those conversations we are we do try

[2:33:44] to be responsive to what the teachers

[2:33:46] feel like they want and need. We also do

[2:33:48] a lot of walkthroughs and the focus is

[2:33:50] definitely going to be on literacy and

[2:33:52] mathematics this year.

[2:33:54] >> So we'll be walking through.

[2:33:57] >> Quick follow up to that. So so how does

[2:33:58] that translate to like the student

[2:34:00] interface? Like what can they expect um

[2:34:06] what sort of outreach can they expect

[2:34:08] you know from teachers from support

[2:34:10] >> in terms of the science of reading

[2:34:11] stuff?

[2:34:12] >> Yes. So we would hope that once we

[2:34:14] provide them with professional learning

[2:34:16] that they would be implementing some of

[2:34:17] those strategies and then you know we're

[2:34:20] doing the walkthroughs you know to hope

[2:34:22] that we see that implementation.

[2:34:24] >> Okay.

[2:34:26] Um would we be able to get some get a

[2:34:28] look at some of that uh what it looks

[2:34:30] like for a high school level

[2:34:32] intervention?

[2:34:33] >> What do you want to what would you want

[2:34:34] to see specifically?

[2:34:36] Well, how would a how would a teacher

[2:34:37] incorporate that into a lesson versus

[2:34:39] like

[2:34:41] manifest as like a pull out?

[2:34:43] >> Yeah, I could show you any of the

[2:34:44] materials for sure.

[2:34:46] >> Yeah. Okay.

[2:34:47] >> I would also say many of our teachers

[2:34:49] are getting this significant Wilson

[2:34:52] training which works with small groups

[2:34:53] of kids and we've really expanded it.

[2:34:56] Special ed teachers and literacy. You

[2:34:58] have a couple literacy interventionists

[2:35:00] at the high school. So if you're feeling

[2:35:02] the need, you can certainly voice that

[2:35:04] too to see if you know if you needed

[2:35:07] something like that extra support.

[2:35:09] >> I personally already okay with one of

[2:35:12] those teachers and that's one of the

[2:35:14] people that I have a lot of

[2:35:15] conversations about with and she sees

[2:35:18] about like the teachers warning that the

[2:35:21] training that they ask for and it's good

[2:35:23] that

[2:35:25] >> Yeah. actually and we just signed up a

[2:35:27] couple of high school teachers for

[2:35:28] Wilson training. So that's interesting

[2:35:30] that you just brought that up. U member

[2:35:33] Mrs. McKenna just reached out to us.

[2:35:34] Yeah.

[2:35:35] >> Yeah. So good.

[2:35:37] >> Okay, Jen. And then moving on.

[2:35:39] >> Yeah, it's just an idea um for

[2:35:42] administration to consider. Um I know we

[2:35:46] um have resources to identify the

[2:35:48] students, right? But maybe we can have

[2:35:51] like a portal where students who may not

[2:35:55] get identified but think they need the

[2:35:57] help that they can submit their name and

[2:36:00] then um obviously rather than just doing

[2:36:03] the Fitch Falcon tutors um have like a

[2:36:06] specialized training um with a teacher

[2:36:09] and it's um it's voluntary because

[2:36:12] they're the ones who requested it and at

[2:36:15] least it's another option. So we have

[2:36:17] the um two routes right us us as

[2:36:20] administration identifying the students

[2:36:22] and then students who think that aim of

[2:36:24] help can selfidentify

[2:36:27] um not to the full rigor of like a full

[2:36:31] curriculum but like hey every every

[2:36:34] Tuesday after school we'll go through

[2:36:37] one type of um literacy type of sentence

[2:36:40] structure um you know how to how to

[2:36:43] build a story and like things that may

[2:36:45] they may have missed. and then just have

[2:36:47] different topics and students come at

[2:36:49] their own pace.

[2:36:50] >> I'm just quick

[2:36:56] Jay has his hand up

[2:36:57] >> alongside student

[2:36:59] order has his hand up

[2:37:01] >> parents as well. Thank you.

[2:37:05] >> Let's not be disruptive. I'm doing good.

[2:37:09] >> I could get back to you but but don't

[2:37:12] but in like that Jay

[2:37:18] All right. Yeah, I just want to take a

[2:37:19] second. I'm not going to go on and on. I just want to say thank you to

[2:37:23] the student representatives for coming

[2:37:24] out and sharing um their perspectives uh

[2:37:28] ever since we added this to the board.

[2:37:30] It has been very helpful and tonight is

[2:37:33] a good example of that. Thank you very

[2:37:35] much. That's all I have to say.

[2:37:36] >> Thank you, Jen. Go ahead, Ian. I was

[2:37:39] going to say a parent portal alongside

[2:37:41] what Jen was saying was having like you

[2:37:43] know not just a student sign up but

[2:37:45] where parents could could interface with

[2:37:47] understand the options that are up out

[2:37:48] there because while a student may not

[2:37:50] selfidentify

[2:37:52] consciously um a parent may recognize a

[2:37:55] deficiency and why I like engage with

[2:37:57] the extra support services.

[2:38:00] >> Right. So, um, Superintendent Austin, I

[2:38:04] guess we want you to get back to us on

[2:38:06] the tech issues, the air conditioning,

[2:38:09] um,

[2:38:13] facilities,

[2:38:14] >> restrooms.

[2:38:16] Did I miss anything?

[2:38:19] Right. Did I miss anything that have to

[2:38:22] get back to us?

[2:38:23] >> Um,

[2:38:25] >> well, this goes back a little bit, but

[2:38:26] the students are cut from track and

[2:38:28] middle school.

[2:38:28] >> Oh, yes. a cup from Jack

[2:38:32] that sheet

[2:38:33] >> and then obviously there's a fish.

[2:38:35] >> Yeah. Yeah.

[2:38:37] >> Oh, actually go ahead.

[2:38:39] >> The El Paso situation.

[2:38:42] Would you be able to like give a little

[2:38:44] presentation on that in at a future

[2:38:46] meeting sometime?

[2:38:47] >> I could Yeah, I could try to gather

[2:38:48] information on that and see what they

[2:38:50] found from doing that for them.

[2:38:52] >> Yeah. And then Yeah. So that way we can

[2:38:55] kind of do more research on our own and

[2:38:57] maybe look into that further. Sounds

[2:38:59] like a great program.

[2:39:01] >> Can you explain that? Um the El Paso

[2:39:03] situation.

[2:39:04] >> Um so the El Paso Independent School District

[2:39:12] um they're like they have their central

[2:39:15] office and other people who uh make uh

[2:39:19] processes and things like in

[2:39:21] implementing how students learn. They

[2:39:25] have those people going into the school

[2:39:27] and subbing for minimum two days out of

[2:39:32] the school year at one of their schools

[2:39:34] and connecting with the students and

[2:39:36] teachers to see what like the teachers

[2:39:39] have to go through on a daily basis and

[2:39:41] talk to students and see what they may

[2:39:43] want and just see how students act and

[2:39:47] what happens when they when the teachers

[2:39:50] are trying to teach them. See the

[2:39:52] attitude. So they can like a better and

[2:39:55] higher idea of what's going on in

[2:39:58] schools and how they should implement

[2:40:00] certain ways of learning.

[2:40:03] >> All right. Thank you.

[2:40:06] Uh so that's it. Thank you guys very

[2:40:10] much. You did an outstanding job. Really

[2:40:14] we um you made me proud anyway and I

[2:40:18] learned a lot from you guys. So, thank

[2:40:21] you for your honesty and your

[2:40:23] willingness to hang out this long. So, I

[2:40:25] really appreciate it.

[2:40:27] >> Thank you.

[2:40:30] » All right, then. Next. So, um, can you

[2:40:33] get the information by the end of this

[2:40:35] week or by the end of next week in your

[2:40:37] notes?

[2:40:38] >> Sure.

[2:40:38] >> And if that's everything for us, I do

[2:40:40] have to excuse myself.

[2:40:42] >> Okay.

[2:40:42] >> Thank you.

[2:40:43] all again.

[2:40:46] >> You as well.

[2:40:49] Does anybody need a break or

[2:40:56] five minute break? Okay.

[2:41:00] >> For 5 minutes. Come back at 8. What's

[2:41:03] that? 7:45.

[2:51:32] Oh, she might think it's a mute person.

[2:51:38] » You want me just

[2:51:44] » ang up?

[2:51:49] Dr. Okay.

[2:51:56] Moving right along.

[2:51:58] >> No, no, my hand is not up. I just wanted

[2:52:02] to say that we're going to be here till

[2:52:04] 3:00 a.m. if we don't, but I think

[2:52:06] you're

[2:52:08] okay.

[2:52:10] >> So, you'll like my next words of wisdom

[2:52:12] because Beverly helped. Beverly said,

[2:52:15] "The data package is chalk full. We're

[2:52:19] not going to go page by page, but what

[2:52:21] we really want to get to is the heart of

[2:52:22] the matter. What are the successes that

[2:52:25] we've seen? What are the challenges? And

[2:52:28] so, we want to be very honest, just like

[2:52:30] these kids have been, and tell you, you

[2:52:32] know, what's working, what's not

[2:52:34] working, and then what are we going to

[2:52:35] do about it? So, that's what this is

[2:52:37] going to be about. Short and sweet and

[2:52:39] to the point. Does that sound good?

[2:52:42] >> Yes. And I don't know about everybody

[2:52:44] else, but I I'm seeing the Rocky board

[2:52:47] schools uh public schools uh symbol on

[2:52:51] my screen. I can't see the board

[2:52:53] meeting.

[2:52:55] >> Oh, that's probably because we're

[2:52:57] getting ready to present it, but we're

[2:52:58] all here.

[2:53:00] >> Oh. Oh, I see. I see. Yeah. Okay.

[2:53:02] >> Thank you.

[2:53:03] >> And Lauren and and Marie are going to

[2:53:06] get us rocking and rolling here.

[2:53:08] >> Okay.

[2:53:10] >> So, would you like I'm flexible in

[2:53:13] whatever we decide to do. Um, do you

[2:53:17] want me to move through?

[2:53:19] >> Yeah, I think they

[2:53:20] >> Thank you, Susan.

[2:53:22] >> Okay, sorry. Board members.

[2:53:23] >> Okay, board members, what do you want?

[2:53:24] >> I'm okay with you moving through that

[2:53:26] page and the page that said um with the

[2:53:28] star.

[2:53:29] >> Yep. So, those are

[2:53:30] >> and then start getting to like the

[2:53:32] presentation itself.

[2:53:34] >> Okay. And so what you have in front of

[2:53:38] you is I a couple of things. One, the

[2:53:41] data that you have in front of you is

[2:53:42] specific to summitive assessments. Um,

[2:53:45] so you're talking about your ESPback,

[2:53:46] your um, SATs. This does not include the

[2:53:49] entire accountability report, um, where

[2:53:52] we get into chronic absenteeism and the

[2:53:55] arts and, you know, all those other

[2:53:57] layers. That will be available in

[2:53:59] November, which is the earliest it's

[2:54:01] ever been. So, we can certainly come

[2:54:02] back to the table. We will be coming

[2:54:04] back to the table as we always do to

[2:54:05] talk about all the pieces that make up

[2:54:07] GRA public schools. So, this is specific

[2:54:10] to the summit of assessments. Um, I am

[2:54:12] going to move through a lot of it. you

[2:54:14] have a ton of data in your packet. We

[2:54:17] tried to provide you with the

[2:54:19] information that you typically ask for

[2:54:21] when we are reviewing summitive

[2:54:23] assessments. Although we're not going to

[2:54:24] focus on all of it tonight. If you have

[2:54:26] questions, you can either, you know, I'm

[2:54:29] not sure how we want to do this, but you

[2:54:31] can put them in the FAQs that we have

[2:54:33] and I can answer them in there for you.

[2:54:35] I can provide you with anything that may

[2:54:36] not have been included that you'd really

[2:54:39] like to see. Um, so we're flexible with

[2:54:42] this, but we will move through a lot of

[2:54:43] the data because you have had it

[2:54:44] available to you uh to review.

[2:54:47] >> This is the district data. The

[2:54:48] principles will be coming back with each

[2:54:50] of their school data and sharing their

[2:54:52] action plans.

[2:54:53] >> So, this is us as a district overall.

[2:54:55] And so some things I do want to keep in

[2:54:57] mind um because I did hear u from our

[2:55:00] student representation you know they

[2:55:01] were talking about that 65% and and they

[2:55:05] may have been misunderstanding what the

[2:55:07] information in the data packet included

[2:55:09] and so just as a reminder when we talk

[2:55:12] about Connecticut metrics particularly

[2:55:14] for our performance index which is how

[2:55:17] we're part of that score of that larger

[2:55:19] accountability index that we get um

[2:55:22] which will come out in November. We have

[2:55:24] our performance index and this is used

[2:55:26] by the Connecticut State Department of

[2:55:28] Education. It is not a percentage. It's

[2:55:30] really looking at our overall

[2:55:32] performance as a district in a

[2:55:34] particular subject area. So, ELA, math,

[2:55:37] science um and it's based on the scale

[2:55:41] scores and it's an average of those

[2:55:43] scale scores with the target being 75 um

[2:55:47] by 2030. Okay. by all school districts,

[2:55:51] not just Graten uh public schools. And

[2:55:53] that target of 75, I think it is

[2:55:55] important to note that when we talk

[2:55:57] about that target, that 75 is a solid

[2:56:01] proficient level three um number. That's

[2:56:05] where that number comes from. So it's

[2:56:06] not like 75% of 100 or 110. No, 75 is

[2:56:11] that scale score using the calculations

[2:56:13] that they come up with that reflects a a

[2:56:16] solid level three meaning proficient

[2:56:19] student average score. Okay. Um

[2:56:22] benchmark. So you'll see the word

[2:56:23] benchmark used throughout the

[2:56:24] presentation um you know in your data

[2:56:27] packet and that is different than a

[2:56:28] performance index. So when we talk about

[2:56:30] the performance index and it's indicated

[2:56:32] on each of those page what we're looking

[2:56:34] at the performance index is a target of

[2:56:37] 75 and it's um a of uh points around the

[2:56:43] scale score. When we refer to benchmark,

[2:56:46] what we're talking is about is a

[2:56:47] standard checkpoint per grade level. So,

[2:56:50] every grade level has a specific

[2:56:51] checkpoint that they're supposed to get

[2:56:53] to. Okay. Um and then those performance

[2:56:56] bands is really more of like how they're

[2:56:59] tiered. They're like like performance

[2:57:01] tiers, right? So a certain scale score

[2:57:04] puts you in a tier that is reflective of

[2:57:06] not meeting benchmark, not meeting the

[2:57:08] grade level standard versus a met where

[2:57:12] you did meet or exceeds you're working

[2:57:14] above that grade level standard. So I

[2:57:16] just wanted to remind you of these um

[2:57:18] metrics that are used throughout you

[2:57:20] know the data that's presented. And so

[2:57:23] [snorts] you have all of this. Would you

[2:57:25] like me to go through these few slides

[2:57:27] with the data or do you want me to skip

[2:57:28] right over to the action step?

[2:57:31] What would you like, Mitch?

[2:57:32] >> Skip over to the action.

[2:57:34] step. Is that

[2:57:36] >> But this 65 is not a percent.

[2:57:38] >> But this in this case points away from

[2:57:41] the target.

[2:57:42] >> Yes. So, and this is just over time. Um,

[2:57:45] you know, if the goal is 75

[2:57:47] >> aging.

[2:57:48] >> Yeah. I I would just like to hit a

[2:57:50] couple of the um of the high points um

[2:57:54] just like maybe the benchmarks like

[2:57:56] because I think those are like pretty

[2:57:58] easy numbers to see like where we were

[2:58:00] last year where we are this year for

[2:58:01] like ELA math science. So maybe just

[2:58:03] some highlights rather than skipping all

[2:58:05] >> sure can. So again this is our trend we are we've increased our performance

[2:58:10] index from last year in language arts.

[2:58:13] Um so you can see that um

[2:58:19] this is our performance index and I know

[2:58:20] you guys have included this before so

[2:58:22] we'll just speak to it quickly. Um you

[2:58:25] know we have increased compared to last

[2:58:28] year we have um we've increased our

[2:58:32] performance index in relation to the

[2:58:34] state. Um, and this is for our DUR,

[2:58:38] which is really like those reference

[2:58:39] groups that are most like us in terms of

[2:58:43] um

[2:58:45] like our socioeconomic status, size, all

[2:58:48] of that of our community.

[2:58:52] Um, here's our alliance district. Same

[2:58:54] thing. This is ELA where we perform in

[2:58:58] relation to the other alliance districts

[2:59:00] within the state. The only ones that are

[2:59:02] not included in the alliance districts

[2:59:04] here were those really those outliers

[2:59:06] that we really are not comparable to. Um

[2:59:08] so those big cities, so you know, New

[2:59:11] Haven, Waterberry, uh Hartford, those

[2:59:13] were removed, although they are still

[2:59:15] part of what we would call the alliance

[2:59:17] district.

[2:59:19] Um

[2:59:20] we also included the region for you

[2:59:22] because we do know that is um you know

[2:59:26] of interest to you. So who are those

[2:59:27] surrounding districts to us? What

[2:59:30] happened to East Line?

[2:59:33] >> Uh, I don't think I've ever included

[2:59:36] East Line, but I can. Did I include East

[2:59:38] Line last year? I don't think I did.

[2:59:40] >> This is the first time though we've been

[2:59:42] ahead of Ledger and Montville, so that

[2:59:45] is seeing some success. We didn't have

[2:59:47] the same success in math, but I'm very

[2:59:49] confident with our K8 initiative now in

[2:59:52] ELA and K8 in math that we'll see some moves there, too.

[2:59:58] So in terms of of where we are uh with

[3:00:01] our ELA performance index in relation to

[3:00:03] the region. So last year we were behind

[3:00:06] the state, we were behind Montville and

[3:00:07] we were behind Ledger. Um we were behind

[3:00:10] Montville by 1.1 points and we were

[3:00:13] behind Ledger by 2.2. So you could see

[3:00:15] that we've now um really moved ahead in

[3:00:19] terms of our performance in relation to

[3:00:22] them.

[3:00:25] So this is our benchmark assessments and

[3:00:28] this is it maybe let me orient you to

[3:00:30] this and then you can always look

[3:00:32] through it more with a little more now

[3:00:34] that you'll have some context to it. Um

[3:00:37] this shows our smarter balance

[3:00:40] assessments and our um SAT assessments

[3:00:43] for ELA. Okay. When we're looking at

[3:00:45] this, we're now talking about our

[3:00:47] benchmark, right? So that is how are our

[3:00:49] kids performing in relation um to those

[3:00:52] tiers, right? who is at and above

[3:00:54] benchmark. That's what this reflects.

[3:00:58] You always are interested in grade

[3:01:00] level. So, we wanted to provide you with

[3:01:01] that. But this also provides you with a

[3:01:03] cohort look. So, if you look at the

[3:01:05] different shades of color, so as an

[3:01:07] example, grade three and 2024, if you

[3:01:11] follow that same blue color down to

[3:01:13] 2025, grade four, that's the same rough

[3:01:17] cohort. They're not exactly all the same

[3:01:19] students, but it's a rough cohort of of

[3:01:21] kids. So that you have two looks at it.

[3:01:24] One grade over time which goes across

[3:01:28] okay and a um horizontal line and then

[3:01:32] you have your cohort. So you can see

[3:01:35] that um the two cohorts that did not

[3:01:38] make the progress we would have liked

[3:01:41] from year over year from grade level to

[3:01:44] grade level is grade four and grade

[3:01:46] five. If you look down at grade eight,

[3:01:48] however, you can see that from last year

[3:01:51] to this year, the grade eight last year

[3:01:53] to grade eight this year, there was a

[3:01:54] 10% increase in their um in the number

[3:01:57] of students be who met or exceeded that

[3:02:00] benchmark.

[3:02:01] >> And also um from seventh grade to 8th

[3:02:04] grade, it looks like too.

[3:02:05] >> Yeah. And so if you look at so the two

[3:02:07] grades worth highlighting here are grade

[3:02:09] four and grade seven, the cohort. Okay.

[3:02:13] So again, we're talking about those

[3:02:14] colors. All right. All right. So, if you

[3:02:16] look at the grade four cohort from 25

[3:02:19] um from 25,

[3:02:24] no, I'm sorry. The grade four cohort

[3:02:26] from grade three, right, that blue in 24

[3:02:32] to 25 and then 25 to 26. You could see

[3:02:36] that the grade three that moved up to

[3:02:39] grade four last year there was almost um

[3:02:42] you know a 7% was just under 6%

[3:02:45] increase. Same thing with grade seven.

[3:02:48] So grade six in 2025 moving to grade

[3:02:51] seven you could see there's an eight and

[3:02:53] uh over an 8 and a half% increase in

[3:02:56] that particular cohort

[3:02:57] >> and that seems to be a trend

[3:02:59] >> and it it is it is a trend between those

[3:03:02] two grades.

[3:03:04] Okay, Jane and Mitch.

[3:03:06] >> Um,

[3:03:08] so I'm just looking at the colors,

[3:03:10] right? So, um, if the colors continue,

[3:03:14] so like 2024 and 52.6,

[3:03:19] then those same group of students or

[3:03:22] roughly the same group of students went

[3:03:24] to 544.

[3:03:26] Um, I believe that's when we started

[3:03:29] introducing

[3:03:31] the tourism. So, like hopefully in the

[3:03:34] following years, like the the next grade

[3:03:39] level, like hopefully they're going to

[3:03:41] continue to stay at that level or

[3:03:44] higher. It looks like 25, they're at 42.

[3:03:48] Um, for third grade,

[3:03:51] >> it's 20 and then back to 48. But if we

[3:03:55] can see that it's the the latest

[3:03:59] cohorts, right, are starting at a higher

[3:04:03] rate than where they were like three

[3:04:05] years ago. So looking at that same grade

[3:04:08] level in 2024,

[3:04:12] um like the seventh graders were in

[3:04:14] their 40s, 40s, 60s, that might be an

[3:04:16] anomaly, and then 51 and then 52. And

[3:04:20] then if we continue, it looks like it's

[3:04:22] just increasing. If you're

[3:04:24] down, going back up, trending to like

[3:04:27] where we are and trying to make that

[3:04:29] impact at the younger years.

[3:04:33] » Is that a fair statement, Lauren?

[3:04:36] >> I'm not sure.

[3:04:38] I I was following what you

[3:04:41] were saying. You lost me. So, you saying

[3:04:44] like in 24 2024?

[3:04:46] >> Yep.

[3:04:47] >> For grade three. And then that's the

[3:04:49] grade four and 25 and the grade

[3:04:53] >> five and 26. Right.

[3:04:55] >> Yes.

[3:04:56] >> But that level that grade level

[3:04:59] >> is basically higher than like if you

[3:05:03] look at the 23 the green levels, right?

[3:05:06] The same comparable for the most part,

[3:05:09] right? So 52.6 is higher than the 50.2.

[3:05:14] Yeah. And then the 54.4 4 is higher than

[3:05:17] the 51.9

[3:05:19] and the 54

[3:05:21] um is not but it's within the plus or

[3:05:24] minus range of five

[3:05:26] >> what I or somewhere around there. Yeah.

[3:05:29] Four. It's like yeah it's within five.

[3:05:32] Okay. So, you're and if I'm reading this

[3:05:34] right, like we can

[3:05:38] um I don't know if those kids are just

[3:05:40] smarter, but it looks like we're

[3:05:41] starting a trend where the newest third

[3:05:44] graders are um going to start scoring

[3:05:48] higher and who knows if it's attributed

[3:05:51] to some of the stuff that we've started

[3:05:53] implementing.

[3:05:54] >> Oh, I see what you're saying. Yes,

[3:05:56] ideally. So, I think what you're saying,

[3:05:59] and correct me if I'm wrong, is that

[3:06:00] each year that grade level three is

[3:06:03] going to start with a greater percentage

[3:06:05] of students already meeting benchmarks.

[3:06:08] So, we're doing less catching up.

[3:06:10] >> Yes.

[3:06:10] >> And then especially with our prek, I'd

[3:06:13] like to see this, you know, like two to

[3:06:15] three year, no, wait,

[3:06:17] >> um, four years, right? Um, five because

[3:06:20] there's kindergarten in there. In five

[3:06:22] years, hopefully this number is not

[3:06:25] still sitting in the But maybe in the

[3:06:27] 60s or 70s like if we really push

[3:06:30] ourselves.

[3:06:31] >> Yeah.

[3:06:32] >> And I was curious about the prek. Now

[3:06:34] granted I was curious about students who

[3:06:37] had attended prek in our in our district

[3:06:40] only. So that doesn't include anywhere

[3:06:42] else but who were with us in Grton for

[3:06:44] prek. now granted again it was half day

[3:06:47] program at the time but it back in 2022

[3:06:49] which would make that our current grade

[3:06:51] three cohort

[3:06:53] >> and of the students that um attended

[3:06:57] um prek with us 50% of them met or

[3:07:01] exceeded benchmark

[3:07:03] uh 58% of the students that do not have

[3:07:07] IEPs were already meeting an exceeding

[3:07:09] benchmark and I was just curious because

[3:07:11] I want a starting place for us so that

[3:07:13] we can really track like how is that

[3:07:15] performance with our prek students

[3:07:18] versus the not the students who were not

[3:07:20] with us for prek? How are how is our

[3:07:22] performance comparing? Right. So I was

[3:07:24] able to come up with that benchmark

[3:07:26] there just so that we have it to track

[3:07:27] and monitor.

[3:07:28] >> Yes.

[3:07:29] >> Yeah.

[3:07:30] >> Thank you.

[3:07:33] >> Um what I want to find out is has the

[3:07:35] benchmark moved over this time frame for

[3:07:39] this table?

[3:07:40] >> No.

[3:07:42] >> Meaning wait meaning what? Let me

[3:07:45] >> So our grade three students that

[3:07:47] benchmark that specific scale score that

[3:07:50] qualifies them as proficient or not. No,

[3:07:52] that scale score has not changed.

[3:07:54] >> That's what I want.

[3:07:55] >> However, when they get to grade four,

[3:07:57] that scale score moves up, right?

[3:07:59] Because it shifts.

[3:08:00] >> Yeah, but it it hasn't has in grade four

[3:08:03] or grade three or any of the grades

[3:08:06] >> shifted.

[3:08:07] Okay, that's what I'm doing.

[3:08:09] >> Y

[3:08:13] » Okay, this is an important piece and I

[3:08:15] just wanted you to have this information

[3:08:17] as well because we we have talked about

[3:08:19] over the years growth. So, it was just

[3:08:21] really a reminder of what we're talking

[3:08:23] about when we talk about benchmark

[3:08:25] versus growth. Right? So, when we're

[3:08:27] talking about benchmark, it's did

[3:08:28] students make it to a specific point,

[3:08:31] right? when we're talking about

[3:08:33] according to all the the kids in their group, right? At their grade

[3:08:37] level, did they make it to one spot,

[3:08:39] right? Growth is different because it's

[3:08:41] looking at individual students and that can change. When we talk about

[3:08:47] growth there, we're talking about a

[3:08:48] change in achievement with that one

[3:08:50] particular student over more than one

[3:08:52] data point. When we talk about targets,

[3:08:54] it's that growth like what are we

[3:08:57] expecting them to gain? So based on

[3:08:59] where they are this year, where are we

[3:09:01] expecting them to get to for next year?

[3:09:02] That's that's their goal. That's their

[3:09:05] growth target. Their growth rate is did

[3:09:07] they make it? Yes or no. That's that's

[3:09:10] the best way that I like to remember it.

[3:09:12] That growth rate is a yes or no

[3:09:14] question. You either hit your target or

[3:09:15] you didn't. And then the average is how

[3:09:18] close did we get to getting our target?

[3:09:19] And that's encompasses all students and

[3:09:22] all their growth targets and how close

[3:09:23] they got. So there's a lot of like

[3:09:26] information to know as you're looking

[3:09:28] through this. So I just wanted to

[3:09:30] clarify that for you. I do think this is

[3:09:32] important to share because this really

[3:09:34] comes into the work that we we're moving

[3:09:36] towards and what we've recognized as an

[3:09:40] area that really needs more focus to

[3:09:42] move kids along. Um so these these are

[3:09:45] our growth rate comparisons for ELA um

[3:09:48] between last year and this year. And so

[3:09:50] when we again when we talk about that

[3:09:52] growth rate, we are talking about yes or

[3:09:55] no. Did they make make their target or

[3:09:57] not? Um and so when we look at last

[3:10:01] year, you can see that grades six,

[3:10:03] seven, and eight did a great job making

[3:10:06] some increases, right, of kids that are

[3:10:08] making their growth target, that are

[3:10:10] hitting that target, which is what we

[3:10:12] want because that's keeping them on

[3:10:13] grade level or above grade level or

[3:10:16] getting closer to grade level. That's

[3:10:18] the purpose of that target and that's

[3:10:20] why it's important. So, we've made some

[3:10:22] gains there, but we really have not seen

[3:10:24] that same gain from last year to this

[3:10:27] year with that fourth and fifth grade um

[3:10:30] group.

[3:10:31] Um the percentage of target achieved

[3:10:34] again, you can see that like they're

[3:10:37] we're right around that 65%. The six,

[3:10:40] seven, and eight really had a nice jump

[3:10:42] in how close they're even getting to

[3:10:44] that growth target. some interesting

[3:10:47] points that I wanted to share with you.

[3:10:49] Um, special education,

[3:10:52] there was a 5% increase in that target

[3:10:55] achieved from last year among that

[3:10:57] group. Um, high needs overall, there was

[3:11:00] a 6% increase in how in their target

[3:11:03] achieved. So, how close they got. And

[3:11:06] then the group that that seemed to hit

[3:11:09] had the largest number of students

[3:11:11] hitting their actual target were our

[3:11:13] what we call our that level four that

[3:11:15] exceeded but those high level fours

[3:11:18] which was really interesting because

[3:11:20] >> those are typically the the the kiddos

[3:11:23] that it's so hard to to hit that target.

[3:11:26] >> So it was interesting to tease that out

[3:11:29] and see that. So it's just right it

[3:11:31] starts putting questions and seeds in

[3:11:33] our mind that we need to be thinking

[3:11:35] about as we as we provide professional

[3:11:38] development and we create our action

[3:11:40] plan. So I did want to share that with

[3:11:42] you. Um

[3:11:45] although we've made some good increases

[3:11:46] and we actually made great increases

[3:11:48] compared to the state. The state

[3:11:50] actually saw a decrease in their growth

[3:11:52] targets. We're still below that that

[3:11:54] state level for growth targets.

[3:12:00] your math performance index. Again, this

[3:12:02] is your trend which you have available

[3:12:03] to you. Um, and if I'm moving too slow

[3:12:07] or fast or you have questions, please

[3:12:09] stop me. Um, I'm just trying to move

[3:12:11] through what you have.

[3:12:14] Um, again, um, we have our DUR. We are

[3:12:18] not quite where the state is at and, um,

[3:12:22] we're behind Vernon. Um but our movement

[3:12:26] in comparison to the state in ver Vernon

[3:12:29] we we're sort of stagnant like we

[3:12:31] haven't made any closer gains where we

[3:12:32] have have an ELA. So um so this is a

[3:12:36] focus area for us as well. Same thing

[3:12:39] with the alliance districts. Okay. Again

[3:12:41] this is this is really more of an

[3:12:43] applesto apples sort of comparison when

[3:12:46] we're looking at how we perform in

[3:12:47] comparison to other districts.

[3:12:50] And here is in relation to our region.

[3:12:54] um

[3:12:58] which we're inching closer to the state

[3:13:01] in Montville as an example and closing

[3:13:03] that gap between them, but we're not we

[3:13:06] have not gone as far as we wanted to in

[3:13:08] order to surpass them in this particular

[3:13:10] in math in particular.

[3:13:14] Again, here are math benchmarks. So,

[3:13:16] we're now moving, we're shifting again

[3:13:18] between the performance index and the

[3:13:20] benchmarks. And it's that same level of

[3:13:22] grade level um performance. You can see

[3:13:26] that all but fourth grade year-over-year

[3:13:29] has increased the percentage of students

[3:13:31] that are at or above. Um, and then if

[3:13:34] you look at those that cohort again,

[3:13:37] it's those same two cohorts. That grade

[3:13:40] four cohort coming from grade three had

[3:13:42] a nice increase um of I well I think it

[3:13:45] was like 3%. Versus that grade six to

[3:13:49] grade seven cohort had a 9.8%

[3:13:54] increase in their cohort. The two

[3:13:57] cohorts that really we need to focus on

[3:13:59] and and that we've identified are those

[3:14:02] grade six and grade eight cohorts um

[3:14:04] that just are not making the gains that

[3:14:07] we need them to make.

[3:14:08] >> Could you comment on the SATs for math?

[3:14:11] >> Y

[3:14:12] >> is that was that your question?

[3:14:13] >> Oh yeah. No, I was just going to just

[3:14:15] point out an observation that um you

[3:14:18] know consistently um you know in in ELA

[3:14:22] math and science it's a little bit less

[3:14:24] clear but um you know we've got a

[3:14:26] notable drop in the middle school and um

[3:14:29] I don't think it has anything to do with

[3:14:31] instruction or quality of instruction.

[3:14:33] Um, is it the schedule in the middle

[3:14:36] school that's that's like the the way

[3:14:39] that it's way that we're kind of forced

[3:14:41] to administer? Is that Do we know why

[3:14:43] we're having that drop in the middle

[3:14:44] school?

[3:14:45] >> I mean, I'm happy to defer to Amarie,

[3:14:47] but I we I don't need to. I'm not sure

[3:14:50] if it's necessarily a product of

[3:14:54] scheduling as much as it is inconsistent

[3:14:57] curriculum and implementation and having

[3:14:59] to really expand that to like K8. So

[3:15:03] there's like this disconnect, right, in

[3:15:05] instruction and curriculum between fifth

[3:15:07] grade and then going into sixth grade

[3:15:09] that really needs to be addressed first.

[3:15:12] Did you want to add to that? We also

[3:15:13] noticed that in teams that really

[3:15:16] collaborate a lot, you're seeing a lot

[3:15:18] of growth. And so we're trying to get

[3:15:20] that model to spread and having these um

[3:15:23] you know, professional learning

[3:15:25] communities come together because we

[3:15:27] know that that's a big factor. And it

[3:15:29] doesn't matter if it's elementary,

[3:15:31] middle, or high school departments. When

[3:15:33] they work together, we see a lot of

[3:15:35] tremendous growth and they share ideas.

[3:15:38] I I will say though, you know, there's

[3:15:40] something to be said for seeing the kids

[3:15:43] at that age level on a more consistent

[3:15:45] basis.

[3:15:47] You can't you can't put your finger on

[3:15:49] one thing and say this is the X factor,

[3:15:52] but I would say it probably does play

[3:15:56] [clears throat]

[3:16:00] So, I know Mike asked about the SAT. So,

[3:16:03] what this is is one cohort over time

[3:16:06] their um their performance on they start

[3:16:10] in this the fall of 9th grade practicing

[3:16:13] with the PSAT. So, this is them moving

[3:16:15] through each of those assessments. Um

[3:16:18] so, fall to spring of grade 10, fall

[3:16:21] grade 11, and then grade 11 spring. And

[3:16:24] so within that time frame, there was a

[3:16:26] 10% increase in the percentage of

[3:16:28] students that were at or above.

[3:16:29] >> And their ELA scores were really good

[3:16:31] too over time.

[3:16:33] >> And then they also look at the scale

[3:16:35] score. Um my understanding is that they

[3:16:38] look for is it a 30 point increase?

[3:16:41] >> They the college board recommends, you

[3:16:43] know, or at least we'll say you want to

[3:16:45] have a target of a 30 point scale score

[3:16:48] over the period of a year.

[3:16:52] So if you look spring spring of grade 10

[3:16:56] to spring of grade 11, they're looking

[3:16:58] for a target of 30 scale points

[3:17:02] increase.

[3:17:06] Again, here is that growth rate, right?

[3:17:08] Did we make our target and how close did

[3:17:11] we get? Um math, we did not have as much

[3:17:16] success as um ELA.

[3:17:19] um

[3:17:22] sixth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade

[3:17:24] as well. Um it was pretty stagnant

[3:17:27] across with with performance last year.

[3:17:29] In fifth grade, you could see that there

[3:17:31] was a drop. Um and then pretty much

[3:17:34] everyone held their own for the most

[3:17:36] part with where they were last year.

[3:17:46] And then in terms of science, this is

[3:17:49] our performance index. Again, that's

[3:17:51] that on that goal of 75. And we really

[3:17:55] had a nice gain this year. Uh GPS

[3:17:57] increased uh 3.6

[3:18:00] uh points from 2025. The state

[3:18:03] increased.5

[3:18:05] points

[3:18:07] >> and is science. It's based not on all

[3:18:09] grades. I I remember.

[3:18:11] >> Yes, it is.

[3:18:12] >> Well, it would so it would depend,

[3:18:13] right? So, it's Oh, I'm sorry. Let me

[3:18:16] for science for NGSS, they take it in

[3:18:18] grade five, grade eight, and grade 11.

[3:18:22] However, on the grade five um science

[3:18:25] assessment, it does cover all that

[3:18:27] they've learned. That's so I apologize

[3:18:29] for jumping too quick to answer that.

[3:18:33] Okay. Science um our DR

[3:18:40] versus um you know where we stand with

[3:18:43] them. We surpassed

[3:18:46] um the state

[3:18:48] by

[3:18:51] we were behind them by 1.7 points last

[3:18:54] year and we s surpassed them by 1.4 this

[3:18:57] year. So that's a really nice jump.

[3:18:59] >> Jen has a question.

[3:19:00] >> Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead.

[3:19:01] >> Um so in the ELA section and the math

[3:19:05] section, Winchester is nowhere to be

[3:19:07] found, right?

[3:19:08] >> And then in the science section, they

[3:19:11] like excel. So when it comes to

[3:19:14] benchmarking

[3:19:16] I mean they're there but I'm just saying

[3:19:18] they're not in the

[3:19:19] >> yes you know

[3:19:20] >> they're in a we said the same thing

[3:19:22] where the

[3:19:23] >> so when it comes to benchmarking right

[3:19:26] and trying to achieve and want to

[3:19:28] achieve

[3:19:29] >> I don't know I don't remember seeing

[3:19:31] that last year but if it's a consistent

[3:19:33] trend that Winchester is higher in

[3:19:35] science maybe we can try to understand

[3:19:38] what they're doing in science so that

[3:19:41] maybe we can implement it in our

[3:19:43] district or maybe it's something that

[3:19:45] we're missing or something like what is

[3:19:48] so special about their science program

[3:19:51] compared to their ELA and math it's so

[3:19:53] that's like when we do benchmarking like

[3:19:56] at my old company it's almost like oh

[3:19:58] what are they doing and how can we learn

[3:20:00] from them

[3:20:01] >> that was the absolute conversation we

[3:20:03] had today like wow

[3:20:06] I know we were thinking the same way

[3:20:08] you're right on yeah that's the so we

[3:20:11] had the same conversation earlier today. They don't have a high

[3:20:14] school. Um they they have the Gilbert

[3:20:16] school which doesn't um I believe

[3:20:18] doesn't factor into their science

[3:20:21] scores. So it would be just grade five

[3:20:22] and grade 11. And I want to say that

[3:20:25] when you have a small district like

[3:20:26] that, their end size, their s their uh sample size is so much smaller

[3:20:33] that a couple of kids you know um

[3:20:37] testing in the you know gain getting

[3:20:40] proficiency or better can really skew

[3:20:42] the district scores either way. So in

[3:20:44] this case, if they did particularly well

[3:20:47] in science this this year, it could

[3:20:50] really push them, you know, and so um

[3:20:54] not to take anything away from

[3:20:55] Winchester, I I'm glad that they did

[3:20:58] well, but um I'm wondering if that's

[3:21:00] really what made the difference here in science and you know, maybe they

[3:21:06] didn't those same children didn't happen

[3:21:08] to do you know, you have a bigger sample

[3:21:11] size with because they're testing all

[3:21:13] grade levels in math an ELA. Are you

[3:21:15] following what I'm saying here?

[3:21:16] >> Yeah.

[3:21:17] >> I'm wondering if that's the case.

[3:21:19] >> No disrespect to them because maybe who knows they're knocking it out

[3:21:22] of the park in science, but I suspect

[3:21:24] that might be the factor.

[3:21:26] >> The factor. Okay, great.

[3:21:30] and all. So we have the alliance

[3:21:32] district and our region as well

[3:21:35] um which we did past the state um in our

[3:21:40] NGSS performance.

[3:21:44] Here is our benchmark. So again now

[3:21:47] we're going back to the you know who's

[3:21:50] meeting and exceeding benchmark um is

[3:21:54] proficient. And so you can see that we

[3:21:57] had nice increases across grade levels.

[3:21:59] Grade 11 knocked it out of the park um

[3:22:04] in terms of their increase over last

[3:22:06] year who's or above. Um and even with

[3:22:10] their cohort from 8th grade, that's

[3:22:12] still over an 11% increase. So um they

[3:22:16] really did a great job um moving those

[3:22:20] kids.

[3:22:24] And so the the highlights from um this

[3:22:27] information from the summit of

[3:22:28] assessments is that the percentage of

[3:22:30] students uh performing at or above has

[3:22:33] increased in all three um state

[3:22:37] assessments. Um the district saw the

[3:22:40] strongest performance obviously in

[3:22:41] science which is 55%.

[3:22:44] um it exceeds the state average by four

[3:22:47] points

[3:22:49] and grade 8 and 11 like we just said had

[3:22:51] just significant improvements in

[3:22:53] science. Those are really the biggest

[3:22:55] highlights. Our areas of focus which

[3:22:57] we've already stated um those cohorts in

[3:23:00] math in particular um but also in ELA as

[3:23:04] well that grade eight and grade six

[3:23:07] cohort really struggled to make the

[3:23:10] gains that we would need them to make.

[3:23:12] And in ELA and math, the percentage of

[3:23:15] students that are hitting their growth

[3:23:17] targets, uh, it fluctuates from year to

[3:23:19] year, but it's pretty static in terms

[3:23:22] of, you know, any real gains, and it

[3:23:25] remains below the the state, um,

[3:23:28] average. So, those are really those are

[3:23:30] two really big areas of focus for next

[3:23:32] year. And so based on that,

[3:23:37] we'd be remiss if we didn't talk about

[3:23:39] the attendance even though this is a

[3:23:40] state assessment report out. Um the

[3:23:43] attendance we can summize does play into

[3:23:47] this. Um you know, one of our goals was

[3:23:49] really to increase the the student

[3:23:52] attendance, the average daily attendance

[3:23:54] and decrease chronic absenteeism, which

[3:23:56] we did a great job this year decreasing

[3:23:59] from um oh, what was it? 20% 20

[3:24:04] >> 21%.

[3:24:04] >> Thank you. I'm so sorry I just drew a

[3:24:06] blank. Down to uh the 16.5 and our goal

[3:24:09] for next year is to get that down to

[3:24:12] 11%. And we think based on the goals we

[3:24:14] we've come up with with the schools that

[3:24:16] we're in good shape to meet those

[3:24:19] targets. Some of the action steps to

[3:24:21] help us get to that 11%. Uh we've

[3:24:24] included parent square now has an

[3:24:27] attendance plus piece which we've we're using with K5 or I'm sorry preK5

[3:24:32] currently just because we want to get a

[3:24:34] good handle on it. There are a lot of

[3:24:36] like

[3:24:37] uh moving parts with the middle and high

[3:24:39] school and how they take attendance that

[3:24:41] are tricky and so we want to really make

[3:24:43] sure that we're calculating it right um

[3:24:45] before we include um parent square into

[3:24:48] this. But it's really a great tool for

[3:24:50] parent communication, parent um

[3:24:53] informing parents, and also for school

[3:24:55] levels to really look at trends like

[3:24:56] when are the most kids absent? Um what

[3:24:59] are we seeing? Are they on those TLI

[3:25:01] days? Are they on Fridays? Is it like

[3:25:04] before a long vacation? So they can

[3:25:05] really look at those trends. Um we're

[3:25:08] leveraging uh district and schoolwide

[3:25:10] attendance teams by targeting atrisisk

[3:25:12] kids. And most important, well, not most

[3:25:15] importantly, but a big big news of the

[3:25:17] day is we applied for the LEAP grant to

[3:25:19] support um Fitch because we it's evident

[3:25:22] that that they really need support in

[3:25:25] improving their attendance. And Ann

[3:25:27] Marie just informed us today that we had

[3:25:29] been

[3:25:30] >> got it

[3:25:32] awarded the grant. So, we will be using

[3:25:34] that to help support the high school

[3:25:36] >> and the high dose tutoring, which I

[3:25:38] think will focus in on math at the

[3:25:40] middle school, too.

[3:25:42] >> Yep. Yeah.

[3:25:42] >> So, we have some great things happening.

[3:25:45] Um, these improvements, as we said, it's an important opportunity. You know,

[3:25:50] when we look at attendance,

[3:25:52] um, improvements in attendance, how how

[3:25:55] those translate to improvements in

[3:25:57] student achievement. Um, so that's

[3:26:00] really the work that's happening there.

[3:26:02] And then in terms of student achievement

[3:26:04] specifically, um the largest action

[3:26:08] steps that we are taking at this time is

[3:26:10] aligning the ELA curriculum. So, uh Whit

[3:26:13] and Wisdom K8 at this point with support

[3:26:16] from the district literacy specialist.

[3:26:19] Um, so she's really going to take on

[3:26:21] that middle school to help them uh

[3:26:24] understand and implement uh with wisdom

[3:26:28] support from our science curriculum and

[3:26:30] best practices K8 with support from the

[3:26:32] STEM coordinator. Um, so that's also

[3:26:34] moving K8 to keep that momentum going

[3:26:37] with science, implementing illustrative

[3:26:40] math K8. So again, it's all about that

[3:26:42] coherence and consistency across the

[3:26:45] grade levels. Um, and then elevating the PLC, so profession professional

[3:26:50] learning communities, elevating that to

[3:26:52] really focus in on the the now what,

[3:26:55] right? So, students structured

[3:26:56] datadriven planning to improve student

[3:26:58] learning when we have students that are

[3:27:01] not meeting what we need them to meet,

[3:27:03] what's our next step. So, really using

[3:27:06] that time to plan for that. Um, how to

[3:27:09] really meet kids where they're at and

[3:27:11] move them ahead. Um, our goal is to

[3:27:14] increase the district performance index

[3:27:16] from 65.1 to 71

[3:27:20] this year. Um, to increase our math from

[3:27:22] 60.8 to 67.5

[3:27:25] and our science from 64.4

[3:27:28] to 68 uh by the end of this year.

[3:27:32] >> So that would be the 2027 spring. Yes,

[3:27:35] we have 2028, 2029, and 2030 to get to

[3:27:40] that 75. to get to that 75.

[3:27:43] >> Yep.

[3:27:47] » And the action step is attendance and

[3:27:52] I know the curriculum investment.

[3:27:55] >> Yep.

[3:27:56] >> And those

[3:27:59] math

[3:28:01] um science. Okay.

[3:28:04] and and one of the most I think all

[3:28:06] these are equally as important but that PLC and really structuring that to

[3:28:11] look at the now what um so that we can

[3:28:14] really begin to target students and

[3:28:16] their needs um

[3:28:18] >> which will help with the their

[3:28:20] intervention what they really need

[3:28:22] >> right

[3:28:25] >> um one of the things and Lauren

[3:28:26] mentioned it but we just were notified u

[3:28:29] by the state department I think Friday

[3:28:31] late Friday that we received the high

[3:28:33] dosage tutoring grant and one of the

[3:28:35] areas that we um that we targeted for

[3:28:38] that grant specifically you've probably

[3:28:40] noticed in our data the last couple of

[3:28:42] years um we have seen a trend that in

[3:28:45] eighth grade our students tend to really

[3:28:47] struggle they they do okay in grade

[3:28:50] seven actually it seems like from six to

[3:28:52] seven we see increases for the last

[3:28:55] couple years but in grade eight they

[3:28:56] really struggle with that content so um

[3:28:59] when we wrote that particular grant for

[3:29:01] high do usage tutoring we're really

[3:29:03] focusing on that grade level to provide

[3:29:06] the students with some extra support.

[3:29:07] So, that's another one of our

[3:29:08] strategies. Um I was hoping that that

[3:29:11] was going to come through and we were

[3:29:12] notified on on Friday that you know that

[3:29:14] is another area that um you know that we were funded. So, that's another

[3:29:19] um strategy that we're going to be able

[3:29:21] to implement hopefully success

[3:29:23] >> and that was a good program when we had

[3:29:24] it. we were starting to make gains and

[3:29:26] it went away.

[3:29:27] >> Mention it, but um you could see like

[3:29:30] from third, fifth grade, we're in our

[3:29:32] 20s and then go down to high teens, but

[3:29:35] it's ELA and math

[3:29:38] >> and it's six, seventh, and eighth grade.

[3:29:41] So, this is good news for the high those

[3:29:43] who are that was effective before our

[3:29:46] budget cuts.

[3:29:47] >> That's right.

[3:29:47] >> And so, um it'll be good. So, um I know

[3:29:51] we're focusing in on six and eight, but

[3:29:53] I don't know if there's another grant

[3:29:55] out there, um for those gap students.

[3:29:59] >> Trust me, if there's a gap out there,

[3:30:01] Shannon and I find it and then we uh and

[3:30:05] we help one another with writing them.

[3:30:06] So,

[3:30:08] >> so thank you.

[3:30:11] >> Maybe you can give us a like an update

[3:30:14] on the grant and their notes. tell us

[3:30:16] how you're going to use it and

[3:30:18] >> absolutely thank you.

[3:30:21] >> All right. Any questions?

[3:30:25] >> Thank you, Lauren.

[3:30:26] >> Thank you.

[3:30:27] Lauren.

[3:30:28] >> I'm going to ask cuz Mike has to leave

[3:30:30] >> and

[3:30:32] I'm going to ask if we could do policy

[3:30:33] all the policy stuff cuz Mike has to

[3:30:36] leave at 9:00 and I'm going to get

[3:30:38] through all this policy stuff.

[3:30:42] I know, but you took a long time with

[3:30:44] this.

[3:30:46] >> That was the short version.

[3:30:48] >> So, Mike has to leave. I'm sorry, Rita,

[3:30:50] but he has to leave. I want to get this

[3:30:52] policy stuff out the way.

[3:30:54] >> Yeah.

[3:30:55] >> Can I

[3:30:58] um I would like to make a motion that we

[3:31:01] um adjust to talk about um going

[3:31:05] cashless prior to the policy on the food

[3:31:08] services charging. Mike's going to talk

[3:31:10] about that.

[3:31:11] >> Yeah, but the I think that I I want to

[3:31:14] listen. So, if somebody wants to make a

[3:31:15] second my motion, I can explain it.

[3:31:18] >> But I really want to do these policy

[3:31:20] because Mike has to leave at 9.

[3:31:21] >> There's a there's reasoning.

[3:31:23] >> I I'll second it.

[3:31:24] >> All right. Thank you. So, um that policy

[3:31:29] on the food services charging um was

[3:31:32] made with the understanding that we were

[3:31:33] going to be a cashless district. I

[3:31:35] watched the meeting and that was that

[3:31:37] was a general assumption during that

[3:31:38] meeting and that policy was changed

[3:31:41] since the first time um we talked about

[3:31:44] it back in July. Um things that were put

[3:31:47] in that to me seem like they're punitive

[3:31:50] um in that policy that are directly

[3:31:53] relating to the changes that'll happen

[3:31:55] by going cashless. So I think that um

[3:31:59] like I would have to just vote no for

[3:32:00] that policy overwhelmingly. Um,

[3:32:04] >> Mike has something to say. He That's why

[3:32:06] I was That's why I was going to That's

[3:32:07] why I wanted Mike to do the policies

[3:32:10] because he's got something to say.

[3:32:12] >> I I don't think there's anything

[3:32:13] punitive um or ill in the the policy.

[3:32:16] But what I was going to suggest when

[3:32:18] that came up is that I I would I would

[3:32:20] move to table that discussion or

[3:32:23] postpone that discussion uh until uh the policy committee can meet again and

[3:32:30] um that board meeting as well be because

[3:32:33] of the exact issues you're bringing up.

[3:32:35] They need to have the discussion first.

[3:32:37] But if we have the if we move that

[3:32:38] discussion first the policy committee

[3:32:41] would still need to meet again. So you

[3:32:43] want to table the policy

[3:32:44] >> postpone

[3:32:47] that makes sense.

[3:32:50] >> All right.

[3:32:51] >> I agree. It doesn't like we need the

[3:32:53] policy to reflect that that discussion

[3:32:55] regardless of how it happens.

[3:32:57] >> Yeah,

[3:32:58] >> I agree with that.

[3:32:59] >> Yeah.

[3:33:02] >> All right, Mike. Go ahead.

[3:33:04] >> Okay, so we're on to policies.

[3:33:09] Okay, here we go. So we're on old

[3:33:11] business. Item one, discussion of

[3:33:14] possible action regarding approval of

[3:33:16] policy P3542.43,

[3:33:20] food service charging policy as second

[3:33:23] reading attachment seven.

[3:33:29] Do you want to make the motion or

[3:33:31] >> Yes, you make the motion. Actually,

[3:33:33] before I make a motion, I don't know if

[3:33:35] it's a motion or not. I I move uh that

[3:33:38] we

[3:33:40] postpone uh discussion on this policy

[3:33:45] until the next

[3:33:48] regular board meeting.

[3:33:51] >> Second.

[3:33:52] >> Okay. So, a motion to postpone until the

[3:33:55] next regular board meeting. Motion to

[3:33:59] postpone.

[3:34:09] made by Mike and seconded by Dan.

[3:34:14] And my my brief rationale is by just

[3:34:17] mentioning that at our last policy

[3:34:19] meeting um um knowing that we had gone

[3:34:22] the school district cash list we

[3:34:25] modified u the policy and and um the

[3:34:29] sentence that u we will discuss later in

[3:34:32] new business I well we'll discuss this

[3:34:34] issue but the sentence that pertains to

[3:34:36] that is uh the new sentence parents or

[3:34:39] guardians may pay in person by check the

[3:34:41] school cafeteria or at food services

[3:34:43] office is located in Worth and Early

[3:34:45] Childhood Center central office or via

[3:34:47] credit card or bank card on the school

[3:34:50] cafe parent portal. So that part we need

[3:34:54] to resolve before uh whether we should

[3:34:56] include something like that or not

[3:34:58] resolve later in the meeting.

[3:35:00] >> Okay. So, the motion on the floor is to

[3:35:03] postpone the policy P3542

[3:35:09] um.43 food service charging policy until

[3:35:13] the next regular board meeting. And that

[3:35:16] motion was made by Mike, seconded by

[3:35:17] Ian. All those in favor? Jay,

[3:35:21] >> can there be discussion?

[3:35:22] >> I just want to make one comment if we

[3:35:24] can have some discussion. Um, if we go

[3:35:27] down to the third paragraph up from the

[3:35:29] bottom, this would just be for the

[3:35:31] policy committee. This is why I thought

[3:35:32] it was punitive. Students are permitted

[3:35:34] to charge alleart items as long as they

[3:35:37] have a positive balance on their

[3:35:39] account. Mhm.

[3:35:40] >> Um and that was added from the last. And

[3:35:43] that to me seems punitive and um and

[3:35:47] completely um like opposite of what it

[3:35:52] says in the one, two, three, fourth

[3:35:55] paragraph where it says we can't um

[3:35:59] designate a specific meal option for a

[3:36:01] child. Um so by by that punitive action

[3:36:04] it really is designating a specific meal

[3:36:07] option and not allowing them to purchase

[3:36:09] alocart items.

[3:36:10] >> It's not part of the the meals and um

[3:36:14] and that that's current policy actually

[3:36:17] u because they could students could only

[3:36:18] pay by cash for alle cart items.

[3:36:21] >> Yeah I know but that's why

[3:36:23] >> already

[3:36:24] actually last school year

[3:36:26] >> only pay by cash

[3:36:28] >> this may go away but I just wanted to to

[3:36:31] postpone not to. So if I'm going to

[3:36:33] discuss you're going to discuss the

[3:36:35] perform that see that's why the meetings

[3:36:37] are so long cuz people get up a lot.

[3:36:48] » Okay.

[3:36:48] >> Changing the rules.

[3:36:49] >> No the motion was to postpone. So the

[3:36:52] discussion was about postponing not

[3:36:54] about correcting the policing for

[3:36:56] postponing. My reasoning for voting to

[3:36:58] postpone.

[3:36:59] >> Okay. All right. Whatever.

[3:37:02] All right. All those in favor of the

[3:37:03] motion, if you're online, raise your

[3:37:05] hand.

[3:37:07] Jay,

[3:37:09] Andrea, you're in favor? Jay's in favor.

[3:37:12] Mike made a motion, so he's in favor, I

[3:37:15] guess. Ian, Jen, myself, Adrian. Okay,

[3:37:21] that's one, two, three, five, six,

[3:37:25] seven. Seven to zero to zero. postponing

[3:37:29] to the next vehment. Go ahead, Mike.

[3:37:33] >> Next uh next item.

[3:37:37] >> Uh discussion passable action regarding

[3:37:40] approval of policy P1

[3:37:43] P1330

[3:37:44] use of school facilities as a second

[3:37:47] reading.

[3:37:48] >> I move uh to approve policy P1330

[3:37:52] use of school facilities as a second

[3:37:54] reading.

[3:37:57] Do

[3:37:57] >> I have a second?

[3:38:00] Thank you, Andrea.

[3:38:01] >> Andrea.

[3:38:02] >> Okay.

[3:38:03] >> All right. I'll I'll describe this, but

[3:38:06] we've seen it once before. Uh the big

[3:38:08] actually sometimes really the big change

[3:38:10] is going to be the um the fe structure

[3:38:13] update from from um years past because

[3:38:16] it hadn't been updated so a long time. I

[3:38:19] will say in attachment eight, it took me

[3:38:22] a bit to piece together what is part of

[3:38:25] the policy and it's pages one through

[3:38:28] three which follows along the one and

[3:38:32] two of the most writing. Three is just

[3:38:34] sort of like a left over there. But then

[3:38:38] after you go there, you have to skip

[3:38:40] over

[3:38:42] the next two pages until you find

[3:38:46] something that's all black text and it

[3:38:50] says in the upper right hand corner

[3:38:52] P1330

[3:38:54] appendix A because that is part of this

[3:38:56] the change that the fee structure is not

[3:39:00] on the regulation side, it's in the

[3:39:03] policy side. It it's there. It's just I

[3:39:07] think it's I don't know what one of the

[3:39:09] pages is in that packet and the other

[3:39:11] one seems like it's trying to make the

[3:39:13] changes but the that page that's all

[3:39:17] black and it says P1330 appex A is the

[3:39:21] other part of the policy and then after

[3:39:24] that you get the um the regulations two

[3:39:27] pages.

[3:39:29] So, and then the um the big differences

[3:39:33] are these these in in large part,

[3:39:36] particularly for specific locations, the

[3:39:38] um the proposed rates have gone up quite

[3:39:40] a bit.

[3:39:42] We can discuss that.

[3:39:48] » And Ian, they did add an annual report

[3:39:50] of the use of school facilities will be

[3:39:52] provided to the board. I think that was

[3:39:54] your suggestion.

[3:39:55] >> Oh, yes. Thank you.

[3:39:58] We're going to have this um

[3:40:02] » I thought we passed that out. The annual

[3:40:04] weight.

[3:40:05] >> Yes, it's it's on that first first page,

[3:40:07] second.

[3:40:10] » Yeah.

[3:40:13] >> All right. Any discussion on the use of school facilities policy?

[3:40:24] » Mike,

[3:40:25] >> I'm supportive of the policy. Um, I'd

[3:40:28] also like because it is a a jump in what

[3:40:32] we're charging to um we're going to pass

[3:40:36] this policy and let's not have it happen

[3:40:39] right away like have it starting like

[3:40:42] actually have people be charged with

[3:40:43] that new structure starting something

[3:40:45] like January. I mean that's an

[3:40:47] implementation part but kind of just to

[3:40:49] ease into it for people to get plenty of

[3:40:51] notice and then um along with that

[3:40:54] annual report like at least for the

[3:40:56] first year we want to know um you know

[3:40:59] we're we're organizations unable to meet

[3:41:04] these rates I know they're waivers

[3:41:06] things like that but basically let's keep a ease in and keep a close

[3:41:10] eye on how it worked um for the first

[3:41:14] >> why don't you put an amendment to the

[3:41:16] policy that um let's put this

[3:41:20] >> effective January.

[3:41:24] >> Yeah.

[3:41:24] >> Wait, wait a second. Are you are you

[3:41:26] good for that mic?

[3:41:28] >> Yeah.

[3:41:32] » Just at the So

[3:41:34] >> maybe at the top, Mike, you know, like

[3:41:37] where building and grounds rental rate

[3:41:40] schedule and right underneath it you

[3:41:42] could say effective date.

[3:41:44] >> Yeah. Actually, we could probably put it

[3:41:46] right on the appendex because I I'm

[3:41:48] guessing this is the part we'll be

[3:41:49] revoting on.

[3:41:50] >> Yeah, this is Yeah, that's the

[3:41:52] >> You got it right there.

[3:41:53] >> Just right underneath the title,

[3:41:56] you know, say Graten Public School

[3:41:57] Building and Grounds retreat um rental

[3:42:00] weight schedule effective.

[3:42:02] >> Yeah. Effective

[3:42:03] >> whatever date. So, how do you just so

[3:42:06] that we're clear, it's going to be let's

[3:42:08] say we decide

[3:42:09] >> maybe

[3:42:10] >> let's say we decide January 4th. Is it

[3:42:13] for all rentals um January 4th and

[3:42:17] beyond or is if they schedule it now for

[3:42:22] January 4th? You know what I mean? Like

[3:42:24] cuz everyone can like schedule it now

[3:42:27] and then have the event take place in

[3:42:29] 2027.

[3:42:31] So when does is it during the time like

[3:42:35] when the meeting or the rentals going to

[3:42:38] take place?

[3:42:39] >> I like that one.

[3:42:40] >> We can put that in. Okay. How do you

[3:42:42] want to say it though?

[3:42:42] >> Effective for all rentals. I mean,

[3:42:45] >> for all rentals after January, whatever

[3:42:49] or

[3:42:49] >> January.

[3:42:51] Yep. Because I don't want somebody to

[3:42:53] all prepay, right? With the the lower

[3:42:56] rate and even though their event is not

[3:42:59] going to take place until next year.

[3:43:01] >> Lock in lower prices.

[3:43:02] >> Exactly.

[3:43:07] [laughter]

[3:43:08] >> Did you want to say anything?

[3:43:10] No, that that addressed the concern.

[3:43:13] >> Okay.

[3:43:19] » So, should I set a date? Make it clean

[3:43:21] after.

[3:43:22] >> Should I move that amendment or so? I

[3:43:25] move that we amend the policy. Um, the

[3:43:30] appendix A. Uh, right below mentioning a

[3:43:34] building and ground rental rate

[3:43:35] schedule, add the sentence effective for

[3:43:38] all rentals. Jan January 1st, 2027 or

[3:43:42] later.

[3:43:45] >> Grab the second.

[3:43:46] >> Second.

[3:43:48] >> Or you could say after January 1st,

[3:43:50] 2027.

[3:43:52] >> Yeah, whatever.

[3:43:54] >> Um, where are you putting it? So, I

[3:43:56] could put it on my paper.

[3:43:59] >> So, it's on these um

[3:44:01] it's this page.

[3:44:02] >> It's this one right up right up top.

[3:44:05] >> Right up top. Okay. It says building and

[3:44:08] grounds rental rate schedule.

[3:44:09] >> Yes. Right underneath it.

[3:44:12] >> I know. Okay. Any discussion?

[3:44:17] » Okay.

[3:44:19] All those in favor of approving the

[3:44:23] school use of school facilities as a

[3:44:26] second reading um with the on the

[3:44:31] appendix.

[3:44:35] I don't know. Is it an appendix? Doesn't

[3:44:37] have a number.

[3:44:38] >> Appendix A

[3:44:39] >> with appendix A um effective date

[3:44:42] January 1st, 2027 for all school

[3:44:46] rentals.

[3:44:48] Did I say that right, Mike?

[3:44:53] All right. Um Jay is a yes. Andrea is a

[3:44:57] yes. Mike, yes.

[3:45:06] Ian Y.

[3:45:11] » Yes.

[3:45:11] >> Adrian.

[3:45:12] >> Yes.

[3:45:12] >> Okay. So, we pass this seven to Z. Thank

[3:45:15] you everyone.

[3:45:16] >> Excuse me.

[3:45:20] You made an amen amendment to

[3:45:24] the motion already posted

[3:45:28] on the agenda.

[3:45:30] So, you just voted on the amendment.

[3:45:34] >> And now we're vote on the motion.

[3:45:38] >> Okay. As amended.

[3:45:40] >> Yes, please.

[3:45:40] >> Okay. So, all those in favor of the

[3:45:43] motion as amended.

[3:45:47] Raise your hand.

[3:45:49] So, we got two online. Dr. AJ, Dr. AJ,

[3:45:55] Mike, Ian, Jen, myself, and an Adrian.

[3:45:59] So, that passes.

[3:46:01] Thank you.

[3:46:10] » Okay, Mike.

[3:46:12] >> Sorry, I don't like the amendments.

[3:46:15] >> Go ahead, Mike.

[3:46:16] >> The next The next policy.

[3:46:18] >> Mhm.

[3:46:18] >> I move to approve policy P1110.1,

[3:46:24] parent involvement, as a second reading.

[3:46:29] Do a second.

[3:46:31] Tom.

[3:46:36] » All right.

[3:46:37] >> So, Joe, Mike made that motion and Ian

[3:46:41] second it.

[3:46:46] » Go ahead, Mike.

[3:46:47] >> All right. I'll talk about the big

[3:46:49] change next, but the little changes are in the other sections. Public

[3:46:54] schools GPS has been abbreviated at the

[3:46:58] bottom at the end of it. Actually, this

[3:47:00] wasn't legal. A little change, but the legal references have been updated.

[3:47:04] That that's not since that was that way

[3:47:07] when we had the first reading. Um,

[3:47:10] what's changed again is the

[3:47:12] introduction.

[3:47:14] And so, it's probably I'll just read it.

[3:47:18] >> Uh, because there's a lot of comments

[3:47:19] about that last time and the policy

[3:47:22] committee had changed it once and then

[3:47:24] when we met first read there a lot of

[3:47:25] comments. So, sort of back to the longer

[3:47:28] version. Um, so let's see if you like

[3:47:30] it. Um, so I'm just reading it's the

[3:47:33] highlight in yellow. The GRE Board of

[3:47:36] Education Board recognizes that a

[3:47:39] child's educational success is a

[3:47:41] partnership shared by school and family.

[3:47:44] A child's family includes all those who

[3:47:46] play an important role in the child's

[3:47:49] well-being. The board supports and

[3:47:51] encourages activity active family

[3:47:53] involvement. To this end, the board in

[3:47:56] conjunction with families will establish

[3:47:58] programs and practices that enhance

[3:48:00] family involvement and reflect specific

[3:48:03] needs of students and their families.

[3:48:05] This is second paragraph. A primary

[3:48:07] district goal is to provide all of

[3:48:10] children's with with equal access to a

[3:48:12] quality education. Family engagement is

[3:48:15] essential to improve student

[3:48:16] achievement.

[3:48:18] Um, lost I'll just capitalize the A. A

[3:48:22] successful family involvement program

[3:48:24] will include but not be limited to the

[3:48:26] preceding components. Professional

[3:48:28] learning activities for staff as well as

[3:48:31] family education opportunities will be

[3:48:33] provided by the board.

[3:48:38] » J

[3:48:40] um I had a question in conjunction with

[3:48:44] families cion

[3:48:46] is that like in reference like to PTO

[3:48:49] because do we have a family com

[3:48:53] committee that will work with the

[3:48:57] district to set up programming.

[3:49:01] >> Yeah, partially PTO and I think u just

[3:49:03] um informal feedback and we've got some

[3:49:06] feedback.

[3:49:06] >> Okay.

[3:49:07] >> Tonight in the meeting just trying to

[3:49:09] have something a broad umbrella to cover

[3:49:12] the many ways that um we seek and and

[3:49:16] actually climate surveys honestly

[3:49:18] >> uh seek and and make use of very

[3:49:21] important.

[3:49:22] >> Okay, great. Thank you.

[3:49:24] >> Jay, you have a question.

[3:49:32] Jay,

[3:49:37] okay.

[3:49:38] >> Sorry about that. That was from the

[3:49:41] >> That's okay. Any other comments or

[3:49:44] questions?

[3:49:46] All right. So, we're ready to vote on

[3:49:48] approving policy P11

[3:49:52] 0.1 parent involvement as a second

[3:49:55] reading. All in favor, raise your hand.

[3:49:58] Dr. A,

[3:50:01] um J, Mike, Ian, Jen, myself, and

[3:50:05] Adrian. So, that passes second to zero.

[3:50:10] Okay.

[3:50:18] See,

[3:50:22] next is um

[3:50:26] I think that's it.

[3:50:30] >> Nope, that's it for policy.

[3:50:32] All right. Thank you, Mike.

[3:50:34] >> I'm going to leave now, but I'll I'll

[3:50:36] join back in. Okay.

[3:50:39] >> All right.

[3:50:41] So, next on the agenda,

[3:50:43] thank you Rita for waiting. I appreciate

[3:50:45] it. Thank you.

[3:50:47] >> Um, director financial report.

[3:50:55] » Thank you for accommodating.

[3:50:58] >> I wanted to give those policies.

[3:51:00] >> Yeah, we will.

[3:51:02] >> Okay. Okay. So, first we'll talk about

[3:51:04] the year-to- date financials that we

[3:51:08] reviewed during the finance and

[3:51:09] facilities meeting. Um,

[3:51:13] of course, this is un audited, but this

[3:51:15] is where we stand for FY26.

[3:51:18] Um, with a bill of balance of 48,107.

[3:51:26] If anyone has any questions,

[3:51:30] feel free to ask. This is with the

[3:51:32] transfers that are on the agenda to

[3:51:35] approve that transfers.

[3:51:40] » Are we not projecting this?

[3:51:44] » In the past, we've always we projected

[3:51:47] the sheet

[3:51:50] >> projected sheet.

[3:51:57] » What's the attachment number?

[3:51:58] >> The attachment is two. Can you do that

[3:52:00] for us, Mark? Thank you.

[3:52:02] >> You have it, Mark.

[3:52:04] >> I'm looking.

[3:52:29] There's so many tabs. I can see it.

[3:52:56] There it is. You found it.

[3:53:07] As I mentioned in the meeting, we are

[3:53:10] still um balancing the funds with the

[3:53:13] town

[3:53:14] >> fund one. is our general fund and fund

[3:53:17] three is our grant fund. Um I hope to

[3:53:20] finish that this week before I go on

[3:53:23] vacation. Um because the auditors plan

[3:53:26] to start

[3:53:29] sorry

[3:53:31] the auditors plan to start believe

[3:53:34] October 17th.

[3:53:42] » Any questions? Any questions on

[3:53:45] attachment too?

[3:53:47] >> All the

[3:53:49] grants are attached in that attachment

[3:53:51] as well.

[3:53:54] >> Um I'm going to eat.

[3:53:58] >> So basically uh at this point the

[3:54:00] current calculations unaudited um

[3:54:03] indicate that we're $48,000

[3:54:06] uh of the curve.

[3:54:09] >> Yes,

[3:54:10] >> that's good. could be non-lapsing funds

[3:54:13] after we go through the audit.

[3:54:19] » I don't anticipate more entries, but

[3:54:24] >> appreciate it.

[3:54:25] >> So, you're thinking this might be the

[3:54:27] final number?

[3:54:29] >> It should be.

[3:54:30] >> Yeah. I guess we still um I'm hoping by

[3:54:34] the end of this week before I go on

[3:54:35] vacation to make sure that every

[3:54:37] everything's tied up. Mhm.

[3:54:39] >> And how long you been that vacation for?

[3:54:43] >> She had to take her vacation since she

[3:54:45] came to us.

[3:54:46] >> She'll be back for the next regular

[3:54:48] meeting.

[3:54:49] >> Yes.

[3:54:50] >> And we're um

[3:54:50] >> And you are coming back.

[3:54:52] >> Yes, she does.

[3:54:54] >> I like to visit South Carolina. I won't

[3:54:56] know there.

[3:54:58] >> I can't afford it.

[3:55:00] >> Now, does all of this have to go into

[3:55:03] fund or part of it goes into it?

[3:55:06] >> You can [clears throat] decide to first.

[3:55:09] I mean, I'm not sure what you mean. I

[3:55:12] feel it should all roll over or unless

[3:55:14] you decide to um

[3:55:17] the oped. I

[3:55:19] >> Yeah, I was going to say

[3:55:20] >> another option.

[3:55:21] >> We haven't looked at it, right? Because

[3:55:23] it's still preliminary, but like Rita

[3:55:25] mentioned, OPED should be one of the

[3:55:28] things that we look at. Um so that we

[3:55:31] don't have any

[3:55:34] >> I would hope that it would be a

[3:55:35] discussion item unto itself that we

[3:55:37] could discuss anything up to and

[3:55:39] including

[3:55:40] >> efforts to be put forward towards the

[3:55:42] robotics field.

[3:55:43] >> Yeah. And then like the the veh like the

[3:55:46] maintenance vehicles

[3:55:48] >> I I am about this year's budget with the

[3:55:51] energy cost

[3:55:52] >> because we developed it before the

[3:55:55] spice. So I think we have to

[3:55:58] >> consider that too.

[3:56:00] >> So that would be a discussion.

[3:56:01] >> And I know our health savings plan is up

[3:56:05] by about 5 million, right? That whole

[3:56:08] plan

[3:56:08] >> that's attached and that is still um

[3:56:11] unodited.

[3:56:13] >> That is an attachment number four. But

[3:56:17] I'm not sure. Are you guys done with

[3:56:18] this?

[3:56:19] >> I didn't mean to move us ahead. I'll

[3:56:21] >> wait.

[3:56:23] >> Yeah. Um yeah, Rita presented this in

[3:56:26] finance of facilities. Adrian, myself

[3:56:28] and Jay um went through it um and we

[3:56:33] were comfortable with what she had

[3:56:35] presented at the time.

[3:56:38] >> Okay. Yeah, it hasn't changed since our

[3:56:40] >> meeting.

[3:56:43] Any other question? Anybody on the line

[3:56:44] have any questions?

[3:56:48] >> No.

[3:56:48] Okay.

[3:56:50] >> No.

[3:56:52] >> Hi What do you have next?

[3:56:59] » Number three.

[3:57:00] >> Next is the budget transfers.

[3:57:02] This is just the um budget transfer

[3:57:05] since the last approval of budget

[3:57:07] transfers because

[3:57:10] budget transfers got to be about 50

[3:57:12] pages long. So, um what's included here

[3:57:16] tonight is what needs to be voted on. Is

[3:57:19] it like four departmental transfers on

[3:57:23] the first piece?

[3:57:28] Oh, it's up there. Okay, great. So, the

[3:57:30] first four are departmental and then um

[3:57:33] the true up starts on page one and

[3:57:38] all the way to 19.

[3:57:42] » Yeah. So um as discussed in the finance

[3:57:45] and facilities meeting um it's 3 million

[3:57:48] total but it's really net zero. It's

[3:57:51] just transferring between the account

[3:57:53] codes. I want that to be mentioned here

[3:57:57] too. Um also um what's driving as um

[3:58:03] Lita had mentioned was that um

[3:58:07] the benefits is still being charged to

[3:58:09] the home departments and it's just

[3:58:11] getting centralized. So you'll see a lot

[3:58:13] of salary like benefits types of chew

[3:58:16] ups in there but it's um just basically

[3:58:18] moving it to the centralized codes

[3:58:22] and there's a lot of FICA and Medicare

[3:58:24] and a lot of lines there. Um when we

[3:58:26] move to mainness is that being an issue

[3:58:28] because their payroll system doesn't um

[3:58:32] post to the individual function. It will

[3:58:35] post to the main centralized account. So

[3:58:39] >> we won't have those types of transfers,

[3:58:41] but I do like to, you know, transfer as

[3:58:43] much as I can. I do have thresholds, but

[3:58:46] you know, I do like to

[3:58:49] up as much as I can.

[3:58:53] Yeah, the total

[3:58:56] 3 million, but it all gets to zero.

[3:59:00] zero. Okay.

[3:59:04] Any questions?

[3:59:05] >> Questions on the transfer? Any questions

[3:59:07] from the people online?

[3:59:10] >> No.

[3:59:12] Okay.

[3:59:15] Attachment four, healthcare.

[3:59:18] >> And so the attachment for is the um the

[3:59:21] most updated unodudited June 30th um

[3:59:25] balance

[3:59:27] for the OPED and the active fund.

[3:59:31] I do have to um just check with D to

[3:59:34] make sure that the active fund is up to

[3:59:36] date as well. Um

[3:59:41] but there is a $5 million, you know,

[3:59:45] fund balance in the active and the OPEC

[3:59:48] is 527 in the negative.

[3:59:52] But the the only one that's new to the

[3:59:55] board is the got an update on that.

[3:59:58] >> Okay.

[3:59:58] >> So, I'll keep you updated next facil

[4:00:02] next finance facilities. I should have I

[4:00:04] just received today um the claims

[4:00:07] through August

[4:00:09] >> from MDG. So we should have some updated

[4:00:11] reports

[4:00:13] >> and we can kind of decide what we want.

[4:00:14] >> Yeah. And the next finance fac and

[4:00:17] hopefully the updated ones for for these

[4:00:20] as well.

[4:00:21] >> Okay, Jay.

[4:00:24] >> Jay.

[4:00:27] » Uh yes. Uh thank you. Um, I don't want

[4:00:29] to put you on the spot this evening, but

[4:00:31] and maybe at the next finance facilities

[4:00:34] meeting you could address. I know

[4:00:36] there's still a couple of questions open

[4:00:38] about the recommendations from um the

[4:00:43] actuarial report in terms of their

[4:00:46] recommendations for the levels of

[4:00:48] funding.

[4:00:49] >> Right. Right. Um and so maybe we could

[4:00:53] discuss that further at the next finance

[4:00:55] meeting just so that we the board

[4:00:58] understands what they're recommending

[4:01:01] and and what the balances are.

[4:01:03] >> Yeah, I agree. Um we are completing an

[4:01:06] OPED they're they're calling it an OPED

[4:01:08] report for the actuaries, but it

[4:01:10] actually includes active employees. So

[4:01:12] it took my staff a couple weeks to

[4:01:16] actually go through. Um, it hasn't been

[4:01:18] updated for two years. Like sometimes

[4:01:21] you don't update it every year, but um,

[4:01:23] Zach just gave it to me today. So, I was

[4:01:26] planning on calling minimum and talking

[4:01:28] to them about how they use our report

[4:01:32] and how they determine everything. So,

[4:01:34] um, it's actually a great timing that

[4:01:36] you said that and hopefully by the next

[4:01:38] finance facilities I'll have to, you

[4:01:40] know, a clarity of it.

[4:01:43] Does that make sense?

[4:01:44] >> Yeah. It's unclear in the way that they

[4:01:46] presented in their report whether the um

[4:01:49] the funding levels they're recommending

[4:01:52] uh are just the board's obligation or if

[4:01:56] they're um you know combining it with

[4:01:59] the uh

[4:02:02] >> employee

[4:02:04] >> contributions.

[4:02:06] Right. is if we could get a little more

[4:02:08] uh clarity on that so we know what the

[4:02:11] true, you know, board obligation is to

[4:02:15] fund these accounts,

[4:02:16] >> right? And I want to understand how they

[4:02:19] get it because they're taking our data,

[4:02:22] you know, and I want to understand how

[4:02:23] they're taking our data, whether they

[4:02:25] what are they using in their report

[4:02:27] because I've I've never um had a

[4:02:32] typically that I've had brokers estimate

[4:02:36] what you need to put in to OPED. I've

[4:02:38] never had, you know, MLM do it. They

[4:02:40] always did our pension. So, yeah, I plan

[4:02:43] to talk to him in the next week or two

[4:02:45] or probably when I get back from

[4:02:47] vacation, to be honest.

[4:02:49] >> Yeah.

[4:02:50] >> Well, as always, we appreciate all your

[4:02:52] hard work. Thank you very much. The

[4:02:54] vacation is uh much appreciated. Turn

[4:02:57] off your phone.

[4:02:59] uh put your uh email on out of office

[4:03:03] [laughter]

[4:03:04] and uh enjoy yourself.

[4:03:06] >> Thank you.

[4:03:09] >> I just want to say I'm glad to hear the

[4:03:11] discussion is happening and I look

[4:03:13] forward to hearing more detail about how

[4:03:15] these numbers are generated.

[4:03:16] >> Yeah, it was a very large report and it

[4:03:18] did take him longer than I expected.

[4:03:20] He's like I said, he's been working on

[4:03:22] it for he also does payroll and rented

[4:03:24] so

[4:03:25] >> so he just finished it today. But um I

[4:03:28] definitely want I want to understand it

[4:03:29] so that I know how to budget.

[4:03:35] » Read it when it says admin exppare.

[4:03:43] » Oh yes.

[4:03:46] >> Yeah. That's the admin fee.

[4:03:48] >> Administrative fee.

[4:03:49] >> That's what we pay them.

[4:03:51] Wow.

[4:03:53] Okay. And this is a yearly fee.

[4:03:57] That's the year to date fee. So yeah,

[4:04:00] 197,000 year to date

[4:04:03] for Is that what you're looking at?

[4:04:06] >> 197. And then on the on the next square

[4:04:10] or rectangle

[4:04:11] >> 18, right?

[4:04:13] >> So we total those two up.

[4:04:15] >> Yeah, that's separate fees.

[4:04:18] >> And how do they

[4:04:19] >> That's the admin fee that they charge to

[4:04:22] everyone. If you're self-insured, you

[4:04:25] see an ad.

[4:04:26] >> Do they base it on a number of claims?

[4:04:28] Yeah. Okay.

[4:04:29] >> And membership.

[4:04:30] >> Thank you,

[4:04:34] >> Jay. You still have your hand up?

[4:04:38] » Okay. Any other You're welcome, Jay. Any

[4:04:42] other questions on um health insurance

[4:04:44] balances as of June 30th, 2026?

[4:04:50] Okay.

[4:04:55] And that's it for you, Rita.

[4:05:01] » Can we move to the tuition, too?

[4:05:04] >> Yeah. Can we move over to that? We're

[4:05:06] going to move over to new business

[4:05:08] discussing and possible action regarding

[4:05:11] FY26 budget transfers between functions

[4:05:15] in the amount of 3,23,431.71.

[4:05:22] Um, Jen, can you read the motion?

[4:05:24] >> Motion to approve the fiscal year 26

[4:05:27] budget transfers between functions in

[4:05:29] the amount of 3,23,431.71.

[4:05:36] » Do I have a second?

[4:05:38] >> Second, Thomas.

[4:05:39] >> Thank you, Ian.

[4:05:41] So, motion was made by Jen and seconded

[4:05:43] by Ian.

[4:05:46] All right. You want to speak on that,

[4:05:48] Rita? the transfer is over.

[4:05:50] >> That's the that's hopefully that's the

[4:05:53] last transfer.

[4:05:56] » 25th 26.

[4:06:00] » All right. Any questions for Reed about

[4:06:02] the transfers?

[4:06:05] >> No. Okay. All those in favor of

[4:06:07] approving FY26 budget transfers between

[4:06:11] functions in the amount of 3,23,431.71.

[4:06:18] Say raise your hand. Dr. A online J Ian

[4:06:22] Jen myself and Agent. Okay,

[4:06:29] that passed.

[4:06:32] Okay, next is discussion and possible

[4:06:34] action regarding approval of out of

[4:06:37] district tuition rates for 2026 2027

[4:06:41] school year.

[4:06:44] Jen, you want to read that?

[4:06:45] >> Sure.

[4:06:47] um to approve the added district tuition

[4:06:50] rates for um the 2026 2027 school year.

[4:06:58] » Do I have a second?

[4:07:00] >> Second, Thomas.

[4:07:01] >> Thank you.

[4:07:04] All right. Discussion.

[4:07:07] Who wants to talk about this?

[4:07:08] >> Just quick question.

[4:07:10] >> I guess that you know, could you just

[4:07:11] give a little background on on what

[4:07:12] guided the changes? So, um we used a

[4:07:18] percentage of what we received for the

[4:07:20] budget increase on the um the general

[4:07:26] education tuition rates. Um because in

[4:07:28] the past we were using EFS, you know,

[4:07:31] the state system, but I um I've seen a lot of chatter on CASBO that

[4:07:37] they would take that figure and they

[4:07:39] would take out special ed and remove

[4:07:41] certain things. and I thought that was

[4:07:43] really complicating the the um the

[4:07:46] formula and it would it might severely

[4:07:50] reduce it. So I just thought um after

[4:07:53] talking to Susan that we increase those

[4:07:56] general rates by what we received budget

[4:07:58] wise which was 4.6

[4:08:02] >> um for FY26.

[4:08:05] Does that make sense? because we're

[4:08:08] always go we're always looking at the

[4:08:09] previous year that's ended. We're not

[4:08:12] looking at this partic this year. Um the

[4:08:15] rates for special ed are based on um the

[4:08:18] market and um actual costs in the

[4:08:22] classroom like the self-contained

[4:08:24] classroom that's based on actual costs

[4:08:26] of the parents and the teachers that are

[4:08:28] in them classrooms. So any of the

[4:08:30] special ed program costs based on actual

[4:08:37] Are those set by Lauren?

[4:08:39] >> The not the special ed program cost. The

[4:08:42] ones below the OTP are the market

[4:08:45] prices. Yes. So Lauren is one of them

[4:08:49] that we look at to see what they're

[4:08:50] charging.

[4:08:56] » Any other questions?

[4:09:01] Okay. All those in favor of approving

[4:09:04] the out of district tuition rates for

[4:09:07] the 2026 2027 school year, raise your

[4:09:11] hand if you're online.

[4:09:13] Dr. A and J I J myself and Adrian that

[4:09:19] passes.

[4:09:22] » Thank you.

[4:09:31] » Okay. back to the beginning. Thank you.

[4:09:35] >> Thanks for hanging around.

[4:09:36] >> We'll see you in a week.

[4:09:38] >> All right.

[4:09:39] >> Good night.

[4:09:40] too.

[4:09:43] >> Just write notes on this.

[4:09:46] Okay. Next is committee reports policy.

[4:09:50] Um,

[4:09:51] >> director facilities.

[4:09:52] >> Oh, I'm sorry.

[4:09:55] You're next.

[4:09:57] >> Sorry about that.

[4:09:58] >> Thank you.

[4:10:01] director of facilities report.

[4:10:03] >> Yeah, my report will be a lot shorter

[4:10:04] than her report. I can tell you that

[4:10:06] much. Um so, uh there there are three

[4:10:09] items that I wanted to report on

[4:10:11] tonight. And of course, the first one

[4:10:13] was the success of the day at Mary

[4:10:17] Morrison School. Um if you didn't make

[4:10:20] it, um you should uh you should come by

[4:10:24] at some point anyways and see what's

[4:10:26] going on over there because it's really

[4:10:28] terrific stuff going on over there. Um,

[4:10:31] I know that uh after the storm that went

[4:10:33] through um the other night um our guys

[4:10:37] were out there first thing this morning

[4:10:40] um and took truckloads of branches and leaves and stuff that blew in from

[4:10:46] that storm uh to get it cleaned up just

[4:10:48] in time for everybody to arrive this

[4:10:50] morning. So, uh thanks to uh to our crew

[4:10:53] for that. Um and uh

[4:10:56] it it was really a nice event. So,

[4:11:00] That's Mary Morrison School. Uh, two

[4:11:02] more items. Um, the Fitch High School

[4:11:06] garage that we're working on for the uh,

[4:11:09] program that's going in there, but we

[4:11:11] are now uh, awaiting um, there's one

[4:11:14] more big piece of equipment that's

[4:11:16] coming in, one more big piece of

[4:11:18] machinery that's coming in, but we are

[4:11:20] also waiting for an electrical bid um,

[4:11:24] for hooking those machines up. So, um,

[4:11:27] our staff isn't able to do that. We have

[4:11:29] a a a quote out and, uh, I just asked

[4:11:33] Tom about it this morning, but, uh, we

[4:11:35] haven't gotten it back. We're expecting

[4:11:36] it any day, um, from the electrician

[4:11:39] that's been working on that stuff for us

[4:11:41] right along. So, we should have that any

[4:11:43] day, and I will report on that next

[4:11:45] time.

[4:11:46] >> And we do still have money in the CIP

[4:11:48] for that in the air conditioning. So,

[4:11:50] right,

[4:11:50] >> that'll be good.

[4:11:52] Um and and the third and final item um

[4:11:56] is a question about the Fish High School

[4:11:59] uh the old gym. Uh the old gym um

[4:12:04] apparently um there were some concerns

[4:12:07] um uh the uh uh the election uh that was

[4:12:13] in hot weather.

[4:12:15] >> Um which doesn't always happen in hot

[4:12:17] weather. Uh but there is no air

[4:12:19] conditioning in that section of the

[4:12:21] building. Um and so I know the town is u

[4:12:25] looking at possibly putting them back

[4:12:28] over at the annex.

[4:12:31] I think the problem there is probably

[4:12:33] parking where we have a lot more parking

[4:12:35] than they would have over there. But um

[4:12:37] but there is no air conditioning in the

[4:12:40] old gym. Um they did um during that time

[4:12:45] they did ask us if we had some fans. We

[4:12:47] took some fillings down here to move the

[4:12:48] air around, but um the concerns were

[4:12:52] mostly from uh the workers because the

[4:12:56] voters came in, voted, and got the heck

[4:12:58] out of there, but the workers were there

[4:13:00] all day long. Um and with the sun coming

[4:13:04] through those uh through those windows,

[4:13:06] kind of magnifies it a bit coming into

[4:13:08] that the old gym. Uh and I guess it got

[4:13:12] pretty warm and they they had some

[4:13:14] failures of equipment. They're

[4:13:15] suggesting that it was because of the

[4:13:17] heat. I don't know whether that's true,

[4:13:18] but that's what they they said. So, um

[4:13:22] it's a concern. We could always put air

[4:13:25] conditioning in there, but that would

[4:13:26] require us going out to bid and write

[4:13:29] some specs, going out to bid and doing

[4:13:31] it.

[4:13:33] >> Or we could move it to Graten Middle

[4:13:35] School

[4:13:38] cafeteria.

[4:13:40] >> We could move it to the Graten Middle

[4:13:42] School. You definitely wouldn't be able

[4:13:45] to do it during school at the Graten

[4:13:48] Middle School.

[4:13:49] >> No, but like Fitch um usually the

[4:13:51] schools are closed down on electric.

[4:13:54] >> I think we'd have to do that because of

[4:13:56] the parking over there. The parking

[4:13:58] doesn't know the Fitch High School, it's

[4:14:00] the back parking lot that you can

[4:14:01] actually people can move somewhere else

[4:14:04] for the day.

[4:14:05] >> Um so that's why I think that's probably

[4:14:08] why it's always been used in the past.

[4:14:10] Mhm.

[4:14:11] >> Um but the Graten Middle School um could

[4:14:14] be used. Uh I I don't have a problem

[4:14:16] with that. We're happy to share our

[4:14:19] facilities with the town

[4:14:21] >> anytime they need it.

[4:14:22] >> Um but uh the parking the parking would

[4:14:25] be the concern and certainly I I don't I

[4:14:28] don't believe we could actually have

[4:14:29] school at the middle school if you can

[4:14:31] have voters coming in in.

[4:14:33] >> Well, we don't have school on election

[4:14:35] day.

[4:14:35] >> We don't have school on election day.

[4:14:37] >> What's that? We don't have school on

[4:14:39] election day

[4:14:41] >> on November 4th. We don't

[4:14:43] >> these were these were um

[4:14:44] >> these these were primary school anyway.

[4:14:48] >> Yeah.

[4:14:50] >> You finished. Okay.

[4:14:52] >> I I think it may already be a moot

[4:14:54] point. I think I think the town council

[4:14:55] voted to move it back to the annex.

[4:15:01] » Yeah.

[4:15:01] >> So then it's not a

[4:15:03] >> It's a concern for the students and what

[4:15:05] are we doing with that? I guess is that

[4:15:08] >> yeah with air conditioning with the

[4:15:09] students that's a concern.

[4:15:11] >> It's never had air conditioning.

[4:15:13] >> Yeah. And I think it's only in the

[4:15:14] summer and I don't think we use the gyms

[4:15:16] in the summertime at all.

[4:15:18] >> Uh there might be some teams that come

[4:15:20] in here and do workouts or something.

[4:15:22] >> Yeah.

[4:15:23] >> Does the big gym have air conditioning?

[4:15:28] » I think so.

[4:15:29] >> It has uh

[4:15:32] it has air handlers in there. I have to verify that on the big gym.

[4:15:41] I I'll have to verify that.

[4:15:43] >> Could you put that in board notes, Sue?

[4:15:46] >> Yep.

[4:15:46] >> Okay.

[4:15:50] » Go ahead.

[4:15:52] J.

[4:15:53] >> There's one thing in financing

[4:15:54] facilities. Um

[4:15:57] I think there's a bid that went out for

[4:16:00] the um walkway the front of Fitch.

[4:16:06] Is that the case or or it was going to

[4:16:10] go out the bid?

[4:16:13] >> Yeah, we got no bids and I believe it's

[4:16:15] going to have to go out to rebid

[4:16:17] >> to rebid. Yeah. Okay. So no one Okay.

[4:16:21] >> So when you when does it go out to

[4:16:22] rebid? I have to talk to Rita and figure

[4:16:26] that out.

[4:16:27] >> Okay.

[4:16:27] >> We'll do that this week because she goes

[4:16:29] >> Yeah. Right away.

[4:16:30] >> So we can get that moving because that

[4:16:33] is

[4:16:34] >> Yeah.

[4:16:35] >> What happens like when there's no bid?

[4:16:38] Is it because the parameters we put

[4:16:41] versus what we're willing to pay? Like

[4:16:43] why would we not get a bid? Is it too

[4:16:47] small of a job? awake.

[4:16:53] » I don't know.

[4:16:54] >> Okay.

[4:17:01] Anything else, Sam?

[4:17:03] >> That would be it for me for tonight.

[4:17:06] >> Thanks, Sam.

[4:17:07] >> Any questions for Sam?

[4:17:09] >> Yeah.

[4:17:11] I'm just um could you um maybe just for

[4:17:14] either finance and facilities at the

[4:17:16] next meeting kind of give us report on you know kind of what's going on in

[4:17:20] bathrooms as far as the facility side of

[4:17:22] it at the high school.

[4:17:29] » You know you're kids.

[4:17:32] >> I can tell you my plumber is there

[4:17:33] almost full time

[4:17:35] >> at D school.

[4:17:39] How about locks and that kind of like

[4:17:42] the locks on the doors and do they just

[4:17:44] keep breaking them? Previous

[4:17:48] administration was actually limited

[4:17:50] where the kids could go and had them

[4:17:53] sign in and sign out and somebody would

[4:17:55] go like the sec maintenance person a

[4:17:59] security person would go in and check it

[4:18:01] every so often after

[4:18:04] I don't know whether it would be after

[4:18:07] uh a student has had problems in the

[4:18:09] past or something maybe but I know that

[4:18:11] they would check them on occasion to see

[4:18:14] if there's no damage And things went

[4:18:16] pretty well when they were doing that.

[4:18:18] >> And they were pretty when we first got

[4:18:20] the

[4:18:21] >> Mr. Harris was the principal here. I had

[4:18:23] so it's been a while since they did

[4:18:25] that.

[4:18:26] >> Well, I think um with the vape detectors

[4:18:29] when they first got them, they were

[4:18:31] going when things were happening and we

[4:18:34] ended up having quite a few kids who

[4:18:35] ended up here

[4:18:37] >> as a consequence.

[4:18:38] >> That's okay. So,

[4:18:40] >> breaking rules has consequences,

[4:18:42] >> but I have to find out what happened to

[4:18:44] those detectors, too.

[4:18:45] >> Yeah.

[4:18:46] >> So, I will

[4:18:48] >> I'd be curious to see if there's a

[4:18:49] reason that the security guards aren't

[4:18:51] going in the bathrooms.

[4:18:53] >> Well,

[4:18:54] >> if that's the case,

[4:18:55] >> I know that's hard to tell. Um,

[4:18:58] >> I've seen them go in.

[4:18:59] >> I I walked in there once. I didn't

[4:19:01] realize that the place was going to be

[4:19:02] full, but I think it was during lunch

[4:19:04] period. I walked into the boys' room and

[4:19:08] it was it was full. Um it was an entire

[4:19:12] group of young men hanging around doing

[4:19:16] what they were doing. We all know what

[4:19:17] they were doing in the boys' room. Um

[4:19:21] and um did

[4:19:22] >> they scatter? I wasn't the only one that

[4:19:24] was in shock. They were in shock that I

[4:19:26] came in too and some of them scattered

[4:19:27] but most of them weren't much bothered

[4:19:30] by the fact that I came in to be honest.

[4:19:32] >> Yeah. Um,

[4:19:33] >> it was a very large group in here. I can

[4:19:35] tell you that much.

[4:19:36] >> Yeah. I mean, maybe there's reasons that

[4:19:38] no one goes in, but

[4:19:40] >> I kind of like to know what they are if

[4:19:42] they are.

[4:19:44] >> Yeah.

[4:19:45] >> Do we have apps so that they need to

[4:19:48] like sign in and sign up? So, we can

[4:19:50] literally track who's been to what

[4:19:55] >> if we really wanted to do the

[4:19:57] enforcement.

[4:19:58] >> Yes. Right.

[4:19:59] >> Maybe we should look at um enforcing

[4:20:02] a policy of something for the bathroom

[4:20:05] and and really discussing security at

[4:20:08] the high school and if that's really

[4:20:10] working because I I have heard

[4:20:13] >> different complaints about security at

[4:20:16] the high school.

[4:20:17] >> So, um maybe that's a discussion for us

[4:20:20] at some point.

[4:20:21] >> Yeah. you know,

[4:20:22] >> yeah,

[4:20:23] >> who we're hiring and if they're able to

[4:20:25] do the job and what are they actually

[4:20:28] doing

[4:20:29] >> and we need to talk about that and see

[4:20:31] because that's an ongoing issue.

[4:20:33] >> As far as also what training they're

[4:20:35] given.

[4:20:35] >> Yeah. What training, right?

[4:20:37] >> How to handle the situation.

[4:20:38] >> Yeah. Because we can't have the plumber

[4:20:41] like just remove the toilet bowl to

[4:20:44] remove the vaping devices like every

[4:20:47] other in the toilet every other day. And

[4:20:50] people can't go to the bathroom because

[4:20:52] of that. We really have to I mean I mean

[4:20:57] they really have to do something at the

[4:20:59] high school. I mean it's part of the leadership at the high

[4:21:03] school.

[4:21:04] >> Mhm.

[4:21:04] >> They have to start stepping it up a

[4:21:06] little bit.

[4:21:07] >> Yeah.

[4:21:14] Cuz kids can't deal with the

[4:21:15] urine. That's not right.

[4:21:19] All right. Anything else? Any others

[4:21:23] comments? Adrian.

[4:21:25] Okay. Jen.

[4:21:30] All right. Anything else, Sam?

[4:21:33] >> No.

[4:21:34] >> All right. Thank you.

[4:21:35] >> Thank you.

[4:21:36] Sam.

[4:21:36] >> All right. Committee reports. We have

[4:21:40] some policy

[4:21:42] um curriculum. Mitch left. So, Ian, you

[4:21:45] want to talk about curriculum? Um

[4:21:47] >> do you mind?

[4:21:48] >> Yeah.

[4:21:49] speak on it. I guess to the extent that

[4:21:51] I know I know that uh we're going to

[4:21:53] have review of the study of IB

[4:21:57] um on our agenda for the October 7th

[4:22:00] meeting

[4:22:01] >> which I did want to note that the uh

[4:22:03] calendar at the end of the agenda does

[4:22:05] not have that listed.

[4:22:07] So that's something that we should make

[4:22:09] an adjustment for the advanced planning

[4:22:11] calendar October 7th 6 p.m. remote.

[4:22:14] >> Okay. Um

[4:22:18] other than that, no I don't I don't have

[4:22:20] I'm not prepared to give a report.

[4:22:21] >> Okay.

[4:22:24] All right.

[4:22:30] » And finance and facilities. um finance

[4:22:33] and facilities met um not at our normal

[4:22:36] um first Tuesday of every month, but we

[4:22:38] met last Tuesday and we basically

[4:22:41] discussed all of the items that Rita and

[4:22:45] um Sam went through um like five pl the

[4:22:50] past five 10 minutes. Um, one of the

[4:22:53] things um that we I I do need to talk to

[4:22:57] Ian regarding his referral um because I

[4:23:00] thought it was CO versus special

[4:23:02] meeting, but I just wanted to get a

[4:23:04] better handle on that um as we proceed.

[4:23:07] Um it is going to be on our next

[4:23:10] meeting. The meeting coming up in

[4:23:13] October is cancelled um due to finance

[4:23:17] director being on vacation. Um, I just

[4:23:20] need to confirm with my colleagues that

[4:23:23] the date proposed by the business

[4:23:25] director works for them.

[4:23:27] >> What was that date? Do you remember?

[4:23:28] >> Um, I believe it was OC, it was the

[4:23:31] Tuesday, um, October 20th.

[4:23:35] >> Um, same time, six o'clock. So, um once

[4:23:38] I get confirmation that that's okay with

[4:23:41] the people that normally attend, um

[4:23:46] we will um I'll let um Joyce know.

[4:23:50] >> Okay. Okay.

[4:23:53] >> That's it.

[4:23:54] >> Okay. Thank you. Um Jay, anything for

[4:23:58] communications?

[4:24:01] >> Uh yes. Well, we met back on August 13th

[4:24:03] and it was coded out the last regular

[4:24:06] meeting.

[4:24:06] >> Okay. Thank you, Jay. Um, ad hoc

[4:24:09] long-term plan space planning.

[4:24:12] >> Yeah, we have not met. We do have a

[4:24:14] meeting scheduled for October 8th at 4

[4:24:17] in the afternoon in the middle school.

[4:24:21] >> Okay.

[4:24:24] >> Middle school.

[4:24:24] >> We got um confirmation that it can be at

[4:24:27] the media center.

[4:24:28] >> All right.

[4:24:30] media center.

[4:24:32] >> Any question for that?

[4:24:35] >> Excuse me.

[4:24:35] >> Question for media.

[4:24:37] >> Do we have an agenda set up for that

[4:24:39] yet?

[4:24:40] >> Um, no. I was planning on um mostly

[4:24:44] focusing on the middle school and then

[4:24:46] um also putting on the agenda to talk

[4:24:48] about robotics.

[4:24:49] >> Okay, very good. Thank you.

[4:24:52] My thought was is to, you know,

[4:24:55] basically let the middle school staff go

[4:24:57] >> and we're going to talk about robotics

[4:24:59] afterwards.

[4:24:59] >> Sounds reasonable.

[4:25:01] >> Uh, but it's at the media center, so

[4:25:03] it's not a normal location. So, will it

[4:25:05] be recorded in accordance with our

[4:25:07] policy or

[4:25:08] >> I'll just make sure Clint has that.

[4:25:10] >> Okay, great. Thank you.

[4:25:12] >> I'll do a phone recording of it.

[4:25:16] >> Something

[4:25:20] appreciate it. Okay, next is learn. Um,

[4:25:24] the learn board met on September the

[4:25:28] 10th if I'm not m mistaken and we were

[4:25:31] introduced to the par educator and the

[4:25:34] teacher of the year. We discussed

[4:25:36] staffing. All certified positions across

[4:25:39] the agency are currently staffed. The

[4:25:42] friendship school is now prek through

[4:25:44] grade one. U the regional multicultural

[4:25:47] magnet school is grades 2 to seven and

[4:25:51] the long-term goal was for the

[4:25:52] friendship school to be prek through two

[4:25:56] and RMS is going to be grades 3 to 8.

[4:26:01] So RMS is moving into middle school.

[4:26:05] They're gonna have a middle school now.

[4:26:08] Um, and the Friendship School and the

[4:26:12] and Marine Science Magnet High School

[4:26:15] were recognized as national magnet

[4:26:17] schools of excellence by the magnet

[4:26:20] schools of America.

[4:26:23] And learn high schools continue to

[4:26:26] demonstrate strong academic outcomes,

[4:26:29] including 100% graduation rate. And 99%

[4:26:33] of the freshmen are on track for

[4:26:35] graduation. The two high school students

[4:26:38] earn the two high schools students earn

[4:26:42] 2,224

[4:26:44] college credits. Uh what else do I have?

[4:26:48] The new uh early childhood center for

[4:26:51] learn hopefully will be opening

[4:26:55] in September 2027. That's the goal. and

[4:26:59] learn will host um the disability

[4:27:02] conference on March 20th, 2027 from 10

[4:27:06] to 2 at the Mystic Ma at the Mystic

[4:27:09] Marriott. And that's all I have to

[4:27:11] learn. I have more, but it's getting

[4:27:13] late. So,

[4:27:15] next is athletic fields. I think I sent

[4:27:18] everyone uh Mitch's notes on athletic

[4:27:20] fields. So, you have that military super

[4:27:24] question on that though.

[4:27:24] >> Yeah, go ahead. There's no student

[4:27:26] mention anything about the um the

[4:27:28] Franklin property.

[4:27:30] >> I don't the athletic fields

[4:27:36] they they they said the board should be

[4:27:39] interested and we gave it to the town

[4:27:42] and I if I'm not mistaken the town

[4:27:44] council is not interested in purchasing

[4:27:46] the athletic bands.

[4:27:48] >> All right. So

[4:27:49] >> I think uh with that regard like it it

[4:27:53] that doesn't seem like I've not I've not

[4:27:54] seen it come across the town council

[4:27:56] agenda.

[4:27:57] >> It's not that's not been voted. Town

[4:27:59] manager works for town council. Town

[4:28:01] council works for the people. We also

[4:28:03] work for the people.

[4:28:06] We have not discussed that and voted on

[4:28:07] it as a board.

[4:28:10] It got sent to athletic fields. I was in

[4:28:12] disagreement with that.

[4:28:14] We need to take responsibility of that

[4:28:16] item and we need to vote on it as a

[4:28:18] board. What we want to do with it and

[4:28:20] whether it

[4:28:22] >> we should vote on whether we want to buy

[4:28:24] >> whether we believe it would be an asset

[4:28:26] to add to the school district and then

[4:28:28] whether or not we want to work with the

[4:28:30] town council and ask to try to make it

[4:28:32] happen and then get them to take some

[4:28:36] official action on it so they can be

[4:28:38] discussed in the public arena and voted

[4:28:40] on in a proper fashion.

[4:28:43] I don't like it seemed like it went off

[4:28:45] into this gray zone and

[4:28:46] >> well once it athletic fields

[4:28:48] >> I know but that's not an that body is an

[4:28:50] ad hoc it's it's not an officially

[4:28:52] ordained body

[4:28:53] >> it's not like a voting body it's not a

[4:28:56] charter body it's not elected

[4:28:57] representatives of the people

[4:28:59] >> okay

[4:29:00] >> town council board of ed

[4:29:04] property over there could be very useful

[4:29:05] to the district

[4:29:08] it could be a great asset to help

[4:29:10] support the students so I think we as

[4:29:12] board have a responsibility to take

[4:29:14] respon to to take possession of that

[4:29:17] item as far as like

[4:29:21] an action item

[4:29:22] >> that we got to put into our agenda and

[4:29:24] handle it through our processes. And

[4:29:28] then if it's determined to be the role

[4:29:29] of the board that we want to take that

[4:29:31] we would like to acquire that for the

[4:29:33] district, then we approach the town

[4:29:35] council

[4:29:37] and ask them to make it a matter of

[4:29:40] discussion on their agenda.

[4:29:43] so that they can have it in a public

[4:29:45] arena. People can come and comment to

[4:29:47] them about it

[4:29:49] and you know we have this discussion in

[4:29:51] public because the town manager doesn't

[4:29:53] get to just arbitrarily decide things

[4:29:55] like that.

[4:29:58] He he works for the council

[4:30:01] and the council works for the people.

[4:30:05] Thank you.

[4:30:11] Okay, next is military students lean

[4:30:14] >> superintendent we haven't met

[4:30:17] coming up

[4:30:19] >> town city council's RTM board of ed

[4:30:22] leaison J

[4:30:24] >> um we met in September um believe it was

[4:30:27] September 10th um

[4:30:31] and we had multiple discussions um

[4:30:33] superintendent Austin was present and

[4:30:36] gave um an update on the school

[4:30:38] district. Um we had um John Bert um also

[4:30:44] present. He provided some insight on

[4:30:49] um what did he what did he I don't oh

[4:30:53] goodness I don't because I remember

[4:30:55] Christine was there and she gave insight

[4:30:57] on the speeding um like monitors that

[4:31:00] are going up on uh Mitchell Street I

[4:31:03] believe and or like um former Clarence B

[4:31:07] sharp I don't know what it's called now

[4:31:09] so there's discussion on that um there

[4:31:13] was also

[4:31:15] Yeah. Why do I um I'm having a blank on

[4:31:18] um

[4:31:22] the town

[4:31:24] Beverly, you were there. I don't recall

[4:31:26] what John shared because Christine

[4:31:29] shared about the um the speeding cameras

[4:31:32] >> when Susan presented on like everything

[4:31:35] going on.

[4:31:37] >> Um new housing.

[4:31:38] >> Oh yes, that's right. new housing going

[4:31:41] up um at the end of Tollgate and um 184.

[4:31:48] There was housing going up there um

[4:31:50] potential um and then on the

[4:31:53] intersection of 117 and 184 and then

[4:31:58] just past Whittle Street um and not

[4:32:01] Whittle Street, Whittle's Farm on Sandy

[4:32:04] Hollow, there was also some discussion

[4:32:06] about housing going up there as well.

[4:32:09] Thank you, Beverly. Once you said that,

[4:32:11] I knew exactly where all the locations

[4:32:13] were. So, um, he gave us updates on

[4:32:16] housing. Um,

[4:32:19] >> finalized yet, I don't think.

[4:32:20] >> No, they haven't. Um, and they're all

[4:32:24] like, um, apartment style, I believe,

[4:32:26] cuz I had asked about 55 and older

[4:32:30] and single structure homes, but they

[4:32:33] were all, um, complexes,

[4:32:35] >> high density.

[4:32:37] >> Mhm.

[4:32:38] And they also talked about um the Columbia class submarines. They

[4:32:47] were not um families probably will not

[4:32:50] be on the Columbia class submarines.

[4:32:53] Um and that came from representative Dan

[4:32:56] Keski

[4:32:58] and we talked about the cost of um house

[4:33:02] bottom roof. what was going on with that

[4:33:05] HVAC and the school construction is now

[4:33:08] 5050.

[4:33:10] We talked about that.

[4:33:12] Um

[4:33:18] what else did they talk about?

[4:33:20] Yeah, because the roof um the money the

[4:33:22] grant for the roof is going to run out.

[4:33:25] So

[4:33:27] you better hurry up and do something

[4:33:28] with that Charles Bon roof.

[4:33:32] And that's about it. And they're very

[4:33:34] interested in getting units going.

[4:33:37] >> It's going to take a while. Um I think

[4:33:39] what they say two to three years before

[4:33:41] fully implemented, but they really want

[4:33:44] to get that going.

[4:33:47] >> Okay.

[4:33:48] >> Is is it actually happening? Is have

[4:33:50] they done the preliminaries?

[4:33:51] >> So we're I'm sorry. We're currently

[4:33:54] paying. However, the project manager

[4:33:56] hasn't contacted Lita and Clint um since

[4:34:00] the initial meeting. Um she has been

[4:34:03] reaching out and um we still need to set

[4:34:06] up like an official kickoff.

[4:34:12] » We voiced this during the meeting.

[4:34:15] >> We're getting ghosted.

[4:34:18] I think the

[4:34:21] project manager is working with the town

[4:34:23] right now to get their

[4:34:25] >> um payroll and it's the same one. So I

[4:34:28] don't know if it's just that

[4:34:30] >> it's working very hard on the town side.

[4:34:33] So I'll find out.

[4:34:34] >> So we were hoping that we would get

[4:34:35] another project manager that they could

[4:34:37] work simultaneously so that both systems

[4:34:40] and platform

[4:34:42] we informed John and John and Susan

[4:34:45] we're going to

[4:34:49] Okay, next is um AGSA GA leazison will

[4:34:56] be meeting on Monday, October 26 at

[4:35:00] about 4:00 before the board meeting.

[4:35:05] Okay, next is the consent calendar. Uh

[4:35:08] do I have a motion to approve the

[4:35:11] consent calendar? That's approval of the

[4:35:14] regular meeting minutes of August 24th,

[4:35:17] 2026. Attachment five, approval of the

[4:35:20] special meeting minutes of August 26.

[4:35:23] Attachment 6 and acceptance of gifts.

[4:35:27] Um, Northeast Academy PTO donated

[4:35:31] $6,45267

[4:35:35] to be used for playground repairs at

[4:35:37] Northeast Academy.

[4:35:40] Uh, do I have a motion to approve?

[4:35:42] Excuse me.

[4:35:45] >> For a motion.

[4:35:45] >> Yes.

[4:35:47] >> So,

[4:35:48] do I second?

[4:35:49] >> Second.

[4:35:52] >> Any discussion?

[4:35:53] >> Yeah. Um, for the minutes of August

[4:35:56] 24th.

[4:35:58] >> Um, at the end, information proposals.

[4:36:02] It says, "Mr. Thomas asked that

[4:36:03] Wednesday's special meeting would allow

[4:36:05] for remote attendance."

[4:36:08] And um

[4:36:11] >> where are you again? So I can

[4:36:13] >> second page of the August 24th minutes.

[4:36:15] >> Okay.

[4:36:16] >> Um that request was denied. Uh I think

[4:36:19] it would be more clear if this if that

[4:36:23] sentence was put in there that my

[4:36:25] request was denied by the chair.

[4:36:31] » I'm trying to find out where you are.

[4:36:32] It's over there. Oh, you're over here.

[4:36:35] Um for old business discussion wait

[4:36:40] >> I also had a note for the August 26

[4:36:42] meeting.

[4:36:43] >> Okay.

[4:36:44] >> Um

[4:36:46] discussion was not allowed in in the for

[4:36:48] the first motion but in the second

[4:36:49] motion for the second executive session.

[4:36:52] Discussion was allowed and I did ask

[4:36:54] again explicitly to be included in the

[4:36:56] executive session remotely and that

[4:36:58] request was denied by the chair.

[4:37:01] >> So I think there should be some sentence

[4:37:02] in there reflecting that.

[4:37:05] I'll put that in there. I have Joyce put

[4:37:08] that in there

[4:37:12] for the August 24th meeting in the old

[4:37:16] business

[4:37:20] on the action item 8

[4:37:23] business

[4:37:25] um

[4:37:27] the reading of policy P5144.12.

[4:37:32] It was I

[4:37:34] that abstain and Mitch voted no. So

[4:37:38] that's backwards.

[4:37:40] Mitch voted no for that policy and I

[4:37:43] abstained.

[4:37:49] » Okay.

[4:37:50] >> All right. Well, one other thing on

[4:37:51] that.

[4:37:53] >> Which one are you

[4:37:54] >> on the same one? First page comments

[4:37:56] from citizens.

[4:37:58] um is uh where Mitch talked about

[4:38:01] curbside voting. I think that should be

[4:38:02] in comments from citizens. I went and

[4:38:05] listened to that meeting and there was

[4:38:07] no clear uh distinction whether we moved

[4:38:09] on from comments to citizens. So um but

[4:38:13] >> curbside

[4:38:14] >> Yeah. He just talked about there being

[4:38:16] an issue ft to allow people to vote

[4:38:18] curbside.

[4:38:19] >> He did talk about it on how many times.

[4:38:21] >> Yeah. So, I think it it did kind of seem

[4:38:23] like it was in response, but I think

[4:38:25] that it it was a little,

[4:38:27] >> you know, wishy-washy when we were

[4:38:28] talking about that. I think it was

[4:38:30] brilliant in comments.

[4:38:31] >> Okay.

[4:38:34] >> Some of this

[4:38:36] corrected view, please.

[4:38:39] >> What's that?

[4:38:40] >> How do you want that?

[4:38:41] >> Oh, just just put that Yeah, just put

[4:38:44] just move that comment into comments

[4:38:46] from citizens rather than response.

[4:38:49] >> Okay. Thank you.

[4:38:51] >> Yeah, that was I I listened to it twice

[4:38:54] and it was very confusing there. So

[4:39:00] >> um under superintendent and

[4:39:01] administration reports summer curriculum

[4:39:04] professional learning it says

[4:39:06] superintendent Austin noted the summer summer camps and the teachers

[4:39:10] working in the camps staff working on

[4:39:14] robotics

[4:39:15] the Mary Morrison project and the

[4:39:17] machine shop project and that all space

[4:39:21] are looking good

[4:39:25] that's bad language Yeah.

[4:39:27] >> Okay. Um,

[4:39:30] and the other one says GMS math and EA

[4:39:34] giving opportunity. I wonder what that

[4:39:37] means.

[4:39:39] What does that mean? Giving opportunity.

[4:39:51] I don't know. Three horses are coming

[4:39:54] forward. 25 horses. Well, revised.

[4:40:03] My other thing is under the director of

[4:40:05] facilities, it said Mr. Kilpatrick

[4:40:08] reported and it says bids came in high

[4:40:11] and went back out to bid again, but it

[4:40:14] doesn't say bids for what? So, if I'm

[4:40:16] reading this, I don't know what what are

[4:40:17] you bidding on? What were we bidding on?

[4:40:20] It must be the cement in front of the

[4:40:22] high school.

[4:40:22] >> It is a cement.

[4:40:23] >> Yeah. So that should be pretty.

[4:40:26] >> No, but it never went out.

[4:40:29] >> I think it did go out and he said it

[4:40:31] came back too high.

[4:40:33] >> Oh.

[4:40:33] >> And then he said that he's going to need

[4:40:34] it.

[4:40:36] >> Yeah. Okay.

[4:40:39] I can go on, but that's about enough of

[4:40:41] that.

[4:40:44] >> We finish up on the August 26. Anything

[4:40:46] else?

[4:40:47] >> Bless you.

[4:40:48] >> God bless you. Um, the last item on the

[4:40:50] agenda is discussion regarding pursuing

[4:40:53] a cashless system at Gotton Public

[4:40:56] Schools. And two,

[4:40:59] >> we got a vote on that.

[4:41:01] >> All right.

[4:41:01] >> The consent agenda.

[4:41:02] >> Oh, yeah. All right. I'm trying to get

[4:41:04] through this. All right. All those in

[4:41:07] favor of the consent calendar as

[4:41:09] amended,

[4:41:11] um, if you're online, raise your hand.

[4:41:14] Andrea, I think we lost Jay.

[4:41:17] >> Nope. There he is. J. Okay. Andrea, Jay,

[4:41:21] Ian, Jen, myself, and Adrian. So, that

[4:41:24] pass. Thank you. Thanks for reminding

[4:41:26] me. I was moving on. And thank you,

[4:41:28] Northeast Academy PTO for your donation

[4:41:31] of $6,45267.

[4:41:37] All right. Next is discussion regarding

[4:41:40] pursuing a cashless system at Barton

[4:41:44] Public Schools. And Rita's not here. Can

[4:41:47] I just tell you what we talked about?

[4:41:49] >> Okay.

[4:41:49] >> We talked about having a place for cash

[4:41:52] to be brought in with the students name

[4:41:54] and ID at Mary Morrison at central

[4:41:58] office in the office and you know um

[4:42:01] Ernie will then pick that cash up or you

[4:42:04] know we'll have that picked up and then

[4:42:06] add it to the kids account. They also

[4:42:08] talked about a place at Fitch High

[4:42:10] School whether it's one cash register

[4:42:13] that's in the cafeteria or in the

[4:42:15] office. So, um, Ernie's willing to to

[4:42:18] make that happen and that I think

[4:42:20] that'll really solve the problem that

[4:42:22] you're not going to have kids with cash

[4:42:24] all over the place. Um, and we really do

[4:42:27] want them to use the system. And to tell

[4:42:29] you the truth, um, Matt did do a survey,

[4:42:32] but only 30 kids responded, and he's

[4:42:34] going to work on getting me those

[4:42:36] responses. We're going to wait a couple

[4:42:37] more days to see if other kids will

[4:42:38] respond. Um, so just to get insight from

[4:42:42] the kids and I'll share that with the

[4:42:44] board. But I think having sites where

[4:42:46] they can put the cash I think the

[4:42:49] problem was that cash was all over the

[4:42:51] place and you had the same person

[4:42:54] collecting the cash as you know um

[4:42:58] getting it to deposit in the bank and

[4:43:01] that that's never a good thing and you

[4:43:03] you're at risk. So we're really trying

[4:43:05] to tighten up where cash comes in. Um

[4:43:08] one of the kids said on the survey

[4:43:10] though he said can't they do Apple Pay?

[4:43:12] you know, so there is, you know, and

[4:43:15] I've even talked to Clinton about that

[4:43:17] like how because kids are using those

[4:43:20] kind, you know, we got to kind of get up

[4:43:22] with the times a little bit on how they,

[4:43:24] >> you know, do those funding, but we do

[4:43:28] we're kind of held to what the um food

[4:43:31] service is using for their receipt of

[4:43:34] funds.

[4:43:36] You know,

[4:43:38] >> I just wanted to give you that

[4:43:39] background. 18.

[4:43:42] >> Yeah. So, um I did

[4:43:45] so we know that at least we'll make an

[4:43:47] assumption that this is mostly targeted

[4:43:50] towards or or who it will affect most is

[4:43:52] probably going to be the lower income um

[4:43:55] you know part of our school system which

[4:43:57] it you know is a lot like over half. Um

[4:44:01] and um so I did a I tried to find if

[4:44:04] there was any studies on how many people

[4:44:07] actually don't have bank accounts and

[4:44:10] FDI had a 2023 report said it was a

[4:44:12] little over 4% of people don't have bank

[4:44:15] accounts and then 14 additional percent

[4:44:18] are underbanked meaning they might have

[4:44:21] a bank account but not um use it every

[4:44:24] day um like we might but they so still

[4:44:27] um you know get money orders

[4:44:30] and cashier checks and or maybe not

[4:44:32] cashier checks um but they'll they'll

[4:44:34] use kind of secondary banking um payday

[4:44:38] type stuff. So um and um in and I

[4:44:43] listened to the um you know the

[4:44:45] discussion um when I was listening to

[4:44:47] the the um policy committee meeting Ernie

[4:44:53] did say that um that the majority I have

[4:44:56] it written down somewhere but the m um

[4:44:59] that the majority of those students

[4:45:00] unfortunately I'm not right here um the

[4:45:02] majority of those students were um the

[4:45:05] kids that um you know that are running

[4:45:07] balances negative balance balances are

[4:45:09] the kids that um applied to have free

[4:45:11] and reduced lunch but didn't actually

[4:45:13] get it. So, so I think that um that that

[4:45:17] a lot of like where we're catching kids

[4:45:19] that aren't paying are probably families

[4:45:22] that really are in hardship at least,

[4:45:25] you know, according to kind of what

[4:45:26] Ernie said. Um so I I just think that

[4:45:30] given the district that we're in going

[4:45:34] cashless,

[4:45:35] um you know, it's going to be easy to

[4:45:37] say that Yeah. Well, I have a credit

[4:45:39] card obviously and I'm sure everybody

[4:45:41] has a credit card. Um, but it's hard to

[4:45:43] pick out the few that don't where this

[4:45:46] is a a meal burden for them. Um, and and

[4:45:50] I don't know how many, but I don't think

[4:45:52] that we're really going to know how many

[4:45:53] with a survey. Um, I think that we have

[4:45:56] to kind of use the statistics that um

[4:45:58] that I think are legitimate. The FDIC,

[4:46:01] you know, under the last administration,

[4:46:03] so it might be a little different. So

[4:46:05] principles the only other two schools

[4:46:06] are Northeast Academy and CB and the

[4:46:08] principles are reporting it isn't a

[4:46:10] problem at all but families have not

[4:46:12] expressed any but I think it's Fitch

[4:46:14] High School because it's related to the

[4:46:16] alleart so their kids who are you know

[4:46:20] maybe preferring to do the alakart

[4:46:22] instead of a meal you know and that's

[4:46:25] where I think that they feel like they

[4:46:27] need to use cash so if we had one um you

[4:46:31] know one cash register that they could

[4:46:34] go to with just the cash. I think that

[4:46:36] would help. And I think to let other

[4:46:38] people know if they only have cash to

[4:46:41] pay that they can put their kids' name

[4:46:44] and, you know, school and their ID

[4:46:46] number and then just put it in an

[4:46:48] envelope and we can collect it safely at

[4:46:50] food services at Mary Morrison and here

[4:46:52] at central office and that way it would

[4:46:55] give them that ability to do that. So,

[4:46:58] what if you had a a a parent that um

[4:47:02] lived over near Eastern Point and their

[4:47:04] child went to Fame's River or Mystic

[4:47:08] River where they don't accept cash.

[4:47:10] >> They don't have a car.

[4:47:11] >> They don't there those are C schools.

[4:47:13] They don't have

[4:47:14] >> goes to Northeast Academy,

[4:47:16] >> right?

[4:47:17] >> Where they don't collect cash and they

[4:47:19] don't have a car or they don't have easy

[4:47:21] access to a car. I've heard that there

[4:47:23] has been no complaints or no concerns

[4:47:26] about kids and meals at at the other two

[4:47:29] elementary schools. So

[4:47:31] >> I I I don't disagree that you haven't

[4:47:33] heard about complaints, but you may not

[4:47:36] be hearing about them. I mean, there may

[4:47:38] be people in here that don't people in

[4:47:40] this community that don't feel

[4:47:42] comfortable that would totally qualify

[4:47:44] for free and reduced lunch, but given

[4:47:46] the environment right now, don't feel

[4:47:47] comfortable filling out those

[4:47:49] applications. And I don't know how we

[4:47:52] find out who that is. Like, how do we

[4:47:56] know who we're missing? Because they're

[4:47:58] just not going to speak up. And I think

[4:48:00] that we really need to use like the

[4:48:01] demographics of the district that we're

[4:48:03] in and um like just take that into

[4:48:06] account with whether cash is a good idea

[4:48:09] because sending a kid to school with $2

[4:48:12] is a big difference than sending him to

[4:48:14] school with $50 or $100 when that might

[4:48:17] be a huge part of your expendable

[4:48:19] income.

[4:48:21] >> I think it's going to be hard to go

[4:48:23] totally cashless.

[4:48:25] So that's why I'm saying we could have

[4:48:27] places where they can bring cash.

[4:48:30] >> And so to Adrian's point, what about the

[4:48:33] elementary? Because you said the high

[4:48:35] school, but you didn't just Adrian's

[4:48:37] point with the elementary school.

[4:48:39] >> Well, what's that?

[4:48:40] >> Well, like I said, the principles have,

[4:48:42] you know, said that no parent has come

[4:48:44] to them and said they wanted the kids

[4:48:45] haven't even come in with cash.

[4:48:47] >> So like at the high school, they were

[4:48:49] coming in to pay cash at the alart.

[4:48:52] So the alle cart, one of the places they

[4:48:55] could put it is right there in one of

[4:48:57] the cash registers. I think it's more

[4:48:59] the high school that we're hearing about

[4:49:01] that's a concern.

[4:49:02] >> So I don't think we can totally go

[4:49:04] cashless. I mean it's

[4:49:06] >> Well, I think that yeah, we're going to

[4:49:07] have to give a place where they can put

[4:49:09] the cash.

[4:49:10] >> Yeah, I I would say I mean

[4:49:13] it's a matter of equitable access and you know creating a a wide ramp

[4:49:20] access point, you know. So And my

[4:49:23] concept of, you know, I'd like to see if

[4:49:27] you want to have one cash register where

[4:49:29] you can accept cash in real time in the

[4:49:31] cafeteria,

[4:49:33] you know, so people could pay on site,

[4:49:37] you know,

[4:49:39] >> in every school.

[4:49:40] >> Ernie has said that more people have

[4:49:42] signed up, even teachers have signed up.

[4:49:44] So he has felt successful that people

[4:49:48] are signing up and more people are

[4:49:49] filling out their forms. Just as a fail

[4:49:51] safe though is what I'm saying. It's

[4:49:52] like you may not get much traffic, but

[4:49:56] the one or two kids or the five or 10

[4:49:58] kids that that do use it.

[4:49:59] >> Well, I wish Rita were here to hear this

[4:50:01] conversation because she does have grave

[4:50:03] concerns about the potential of fraud.

[4:50:07] Um, and we just wouldn't know.

[4:50:12] >> But I don't I don't I'm I'm not me. I'm

[4:50:15] not saying that uh we shouldn't try to

[4:50:18] go cashless, but I don't think we can

[4:50:21] really go cashless. I think it's I mean,

[4:50:24] you can still encourage people to pay by

[4:50:26] check, you know, pay by credit card, but

[4:50:29] I think we're still going to have to

[4:50:30] accept money.

[4:50:32] That's my thought.

[4:50:34] >> Mike Mike.

[4:50:38] » Yeah. Thank you. Um, I think for the

[4:50:41] high school, I maybe you already said

[4:50:42] this, but the outlet car for sure. I

[4:50:45] think accepting cash will be important

[4:50:46] because high school students, they're probably using their own cash.

[4:50:50] >> Yeah. Value of money in their earning

[4:50:52] power. This is where they can can can

[4:50:55] use it. Um, and then maybe in general

[4:50:58] for the high school that would be a um

[4:51:00] and maybe the middle school because it's

[4:51:02] just not that many sites to deal with

[4:51:04] and then they're they're older students

[4:51:06] anyway. probably be um practically and

[4:51:10] more important to um to have to

[4:51:12] certainly have cash options there. Um my

[4:51:16] other question is um Jay had brought up

[4:51:20] the point of some new state law that's

[4:51:24] going to come in eventually and say you

[4:51:26] can't charge an access fee um to pay for

[4:51:30] student meals. I know we don't directly

[4:51:33] but the um uh the service we use it

[4:51:36] charges I think it's you see $225 or

[4:51:39] $250

[4:51:40] every time and that's a varying

[4:51:42] percentage like it actually favors

[4:51:44] people putting in more money at once

[4:51:46] right

[4:51:46] >> which would disadvantage people having

[4:51:48] less money right

[4:51:49] >> um in the first place but like so um

[4:51:53] could you comment on on what Jay had

[4:51:55] brought up is that something on the

[4:51:57] horizon and if so should we just kind of

[4:51:59] wait for that seems like it's going to

[4:52:01] be next fear.

[4:52:02] >> I don't know. I think I have to talk to

[4:52:03] the representatives about that.

[4:52:08] I'm I'm not sure about that one.

[4:52:11] >> Jay,

[4:52:12] >> find out.

[4:52:13] >> Jay, can you speak on that what you

[4:52:15] heard?

[4:52:18] » Yeah. Well, let me find the actual

[4:52:20] documentation and send it to the whole

[4:52:21] board. But my understanding is that um

[4:52:26] it's not going to be legal to charge uh

[4:52:29] fees uh starting in 2027. My concern is

[4:52:34] if you take away the profit factor, so

[4:52:36] will all these electronic services, you

[4:52:39] know, basically just cease to work for

[4:52:42] anybody. Um though I did mention that

[4:52:46] there were other services I I won't

[4:52:48] mention them mention them online here

[4:52:51] that um that other districts are using

[4:52:53] to electronically transfer from their

[4:52:56] bank accounts without fee. So I mean I

[4:52:59] think this is all going to be changing

[4:53:01] quite a bit in in the next year.

[4:53:06] » Okay.

[4:53:07] >> Yeah. I just wanted to also express my

[4:53:10] uh shared discomfort with the idea of

[4:53:13] having a third party system charge fees

[4:53:15] because it is essentially a poor person

[4:53:18] tax.

[4:53:19] >> Um where they have to pay more because

[4:53:22] they have to put in more often, you

[4:53:24] know, and and then you can't, you know,

[4:53:28] it's it's unduly favors, you know,

[4:53:30] people who can drop large sums,

[4:53:34] >> you know, so it's not equitable.

[4:53:38] So, um, so we have to, again, I don't

[4:53:40] know where these third party vendors

[4:53:42] come from or how we get wrapped up with

[4:53:45] them, but I think we should find a way

[4:53:46] to get away from them.

[4:53:47] >> Yeah.

[4:53:48] >> Credit cards charge, you know, the

[4:53:50] stores charge and we end up paying.

[4:53:53] >> We had that other agenda item where

[4:53:54] they're talking about the fees were

[4:53:56] absorbed, you know,

[4:53:59] >> like the other night when we were having

[4:54:00] that meeting.

[4:54:01] >> I think that was a camp for 30 kids or

[4:54:03] something. it wasn't like a whole 3,000

[4:54:06] students.

[4:54:07] >> Yeah.

[4:54:08] >> So, I mean anyway, like you know, we

[4:54:09] we're

[4:54:11] this whole district is supposed to be a

[4:54:12] place where everyone gets a level

[4:54:13] playing field, you know, and and and so

[4:54:15] I I think we should apply that that

[4:54:18] ethos to everything we possibly can and you know,

[4:54:24] >> so do you think that we should try to go

[4:54:27] cashless as much as we can but still

[4:54:30] accept cash when we have to? Yeah, the versatility, diversity of access,

[4:54:35] you know, like differentiate.

[4:54:38] >> So, if that's the case, I think we

[4:54:40] should still forward with going

[4:54:42] cashless, right? Like I said, there's

[4:54:44] other like when you're outside with

[4:54:48] outside in the real world, like the

[4:54:50] district, there's places we go and you

[4:54:53] get caught off guard and you have to pay

[4:54:55] very um cashless. So the idea of having

[4:54:59] one cash register open especially alle

[4:55:02] cart right um at fitch that accepts cash

[4:55:07] I think that's a viable option um maybe

[4:55:10] there are no issues or minimal issues at

[4:55:13] the elementary school because maybe

[4:55:14] those kids aren't allowed to purchase

[4:55:16] alle cart I'm not really sure

[4:55:18] >> nobody else has alle cart

[4:55:19] >> yeah so I think middle school does

[4:55:22] >> middle school I think once a week

[4:55:23] >> yeah so that's cash register

[4:55:26] >> yeah it's not has

[4:55:27] >> no it's not it's the high school. So if

[4:55:29] we can have a register let's try it out

[4:55:32] but um only for alle cart

[4:55:40] » Jay you have your hand up again.

[4:55:43] >> Yeah I'm sorry I just want to make it

[4:55:45] clear this was this is a federal

[4:55:48] um uh law that will be coming into

[4:55:51] effect next year and so I'll I'll

[4:55:53] forward it. It it only um it will only

[4:55:56] make it illegal for um families under a

[4:56:00] certain um income level.

[4:56:03] >> Mhm.

[4:56:04] >> Um above that, I guess it would still be

[4:56:06] legal. I don't know.

[4:56:08] >> I mean, a junk fee is a junk fee, right?

[4:56:10] But

[4:56:10] >> how are they going to even decipher

[4:56:12] that?

[4:56:12] >> Probably your IRS taxes or something.

[4:56:16] >> Yeah. I I I don't know. But again, it's

[4:56:19] um I I think there are ways right now. U

[4:56:22] but

[4:56:24] um to to transfer from your checking

[4:56:27] account with certain vendors. Um I think

[4:56:29] there was an issue about uh a district

[4:56:32] is not um you know has to have an

[4:56:36] institutional um bank account, not a

[4:56:39] business account. So um maybe they they

[4:56:43] can't accept but I I I did find examples

[4:56:45] of other uh districts um that are using

[4:56:49] these cash transfer systems that don't

[4:56:51] have fees. I mean, I think it could be

[4:56:53] done, but in the meantime, I agree that

[4:56:56] I think we should um

[4:56:59] ease into this um you know, rather than

[4:57:02] just going cashless

[4:57:04] all together.

[4:57:07] >> Thank you, Jay. Mike, you have your hand

[4:57:09] up.

[4:57:11] >> Yeah, just briefly, I was wondering if

[4:57:13] we can keep track of or if we already

[4:57:14] know, is the unpaid lunch debt tracking

[4:57:18] higher this year than last year? It's

[4:57:22] too soon to tell, but that that you

[4:57:24] know, we'd have to think that might it's

[4:57:26] harder to pay because we've reduced one

[4:57:29] of the ways he can or eliminate one. I'm

[4:57:31] just wondering what we know about the

[4:57:33] temp this year versus last.

[4:57:37] >> I can find out from Ernie where we're

[4:57:40] running this month, you know, at the end

[4:57:42] of September versus last September.

[4:57:46] >> Yeah, he would know. I mean like last

[4:57:47] year early on he knew we were like in

[4:57:50] the whole like I think 13 or 20,000

[4:57:53] and it was very soon.

[4:57:56] >> All right. Any other discussion on going

[4:57:59] cashless? So I'm taking it as we can't

[4:58:04] go entirely cashless yet. We can

[4:58:06] encourage people to pay by check or

[4:58:09] money order or credit card. But at the

[4:58:12] high school we'll still have a cash

[4:58:14] register and they have our at the middle

[4:58:17] school.

[4:58:18] >> So we'll still have a cash registered

[4:58:20] there

[4:58:21] >> and I personally feel that all the all

[4:58:25] the schools should accept cash as form

[4:58:28] of payment for lunch.

[4:58:29] >> Mhm.

[4:58:30] >> I mean we can try to discourage it try

[4:58:31] to move away from it

[4:58:33] >> and I mean I think we

[4:58:37] from you know obviously before I mean I

[4:58:39] even thought that we were supposed to go

[4:58:40] cashless by that report. Um and I think

[4:58:42] I said that in the meeting but um but

[4:58:45] don't have to and there's other ways to

[4:58:48] solve the problem, you know, of um

[4:58:51] preventing fraud that we don't have any

[4:58:53] record that we've ever had fraud.

[4:58:55] >> Well, you wouldn't know.

[4:58:57] >> Like those two lunch ladies in New

[4:58:59] Kingdom that stole them.

[4:59:00] >> No one's going to steal a million

[4:59:01] dollars, $3 at a time. So,

[4:59:04] >> no, but over I don't think we need to

[4:59:06] talk about a million dollars because

[4:59:07] it's clearly

[4:59:08] >> a million dollars might be excessive,

[4:59:11] but they can easily but they can easily

[4:59:14] take $1,000. They can easily take

[4:59:16] $10,000. And there's there's probably

[4:59:18] other systems that we could put in place

[4:59:20] to help prevent that,

[4:59:22] >> restrict that rather than just going

[4:59:25] >> because we still need to have a control

[4:59:27] like the control that you have in place

[4:59:29] for point of service types of firms

[4:59:32] versus let's say town hall is different,

[4:59:35] right? Because it's small petty c not

[4:59:39] petty but small petty cash, high volume,

[4:59:42] high transaction,

[4:59:44] very easy for fraud, right? Whereas if

[4:59:46] you have like a tax bill, centralized

[4:59:49] location um payment very different type

[4:59:53] of um control that you have to have in

[4:59:56] place there. It's larger, less

[4:59:58] frequency. Um not saying that there is

[5:00:01] fraud. I'm just saying we as a district

[5:00:05] need to think of situations where fraud

[5:00:09] can occur and mitigate it to um protect

[5:00:13] the district. Um, like I said before, I

[5:00:16] support Rita because if there is

[5:00:19] anything that is identifiable in an

[5:00:22] audit, it's not us. It's Rita. She's the

[5:00:24] finance director. She has control of any

[5:00:28] controls that we put in place for this

[5:00:30] district. She is the professional we

[5:00:32] hired and we need to um trust her

[5:00:34] judgment, right? We need to support

[5:00:36] that. Um so yes I do feel that yes it's

[5:00:40] hard um for everyone to go cashless but

[5:00:44] society's trending cashless we are going

[5:00:47] to accommodate there's two or three

[5:00:49] locations

[5:00:50] um proposal by administration is to have

[5:00:54] um open cash registers at Fitch and GMS

[5:00:59] what more can we do or one what more can

[5:01:02] we do we're trying to accommodate but we

[5:01:05] can't accommodate everything. We need to

[5:01:09] as a board, we need to keep, you know,

[5:01:11] ensure that the kids, the children can

[5:01:13] eat, right? Like if they want extra, but

[5:01:17] we're not denying them their original

[5:01:19] meal. And but we do need to protect um

[5:01:22] the district and any of the finances. We

[5:01:26] can provide guidance. That's our job as

[5:01:29] the board of ed, but the director of

[5:01:32] finance should have that say in addition

[5:01:35] with the superintendent. And that's what I was trying to convey last

[5:01:38] time, you know, and I think it's very

[5:01:41] important. Um because it's her um she's

[5:01:44] online. She's the one signing off on our

[5:01:46] financials and everything.

[5:01:49] >> And I think she's trying to be

[5:01:50] proactive.

[5:01:51] >> She is trying to be she's trying to be

[5:01:53] proactive.

[5:01:54] >> Be proactive. When something happens,

[5:01:55] then let's do something. I think VA is

[5:01:57] trying to be proactive. Let's get a So

[5:02:00] this

[5:02:01] >> Yeah,

[5:02:01] >> I don't my I'm not saying that we should

[5:02:05] ignore the report because the report

[5:02:07] said put controls in place to help

[5:02:09] prevent fraud, right?

[5:02:10] >> There's more than one way of doing that.

[5:02:12] I mean, not accepting cash is clearly a

[5:02:14] way that we can help prevent fraud.

[5:02:16] >> Putting cameras up over cash registers

[5:02:18] or places where cash is accepted is

[5:02:20] another way of doing it. So that's like one solution so that if we

[5:02:24] suspect fraud, we can go back and see

[5:02:26] it.

[5:02:27] >> So there's there's more that and I'm and

[5:02:30] I'm not a security person, so I imagine

[5:02:32] people that know how to like do this

[5:02:34] with security would have good ideas, not

[5:02:37] just my ideas.

[5:02:39] >> So um so I I still support just um

[5:02:43] accepting cash at all the schools for

[5:02:46] right now until we can um figure out a

[5:02:49] better plan. Well, that's their plan to

[5:02:51] only have one cash register. They still

[5:02:53] want to

[5:02:54] >> accept.

[5:02:55] They're not going to accept it at all

[5:02:57] the schools.

[5:02:58] >> And that's why I don't think it's fair

[5:03:00] for because I I don't know how many

[5:03:03] people don't have cars, but I'm guessing

[5:03:04] there's a lot of them.

[5:03:07] >> Mike

[5:03:09] and I

[5:03:11] and let's decide what we're going to do

[5:03:13] because it's up to 10.

[5:03:15] >> Yeah. I agree with the importance of

[5:03:17] controls

[5:03:18] >> and um and I I I concerned about cameras

[5:03:23] actually in a school setting,

[5:03:24] >> but um I I will say these kind of

[5:03:27] controls have been there for years.

[5:03:29] every uh store in Mystic or Graten or

[5:03:33] wherever they they deal with many many

[5:03:35] small transactions every day from

[5:03:38] different um forms of payment and uh

[5:03:41] just see if your uh register and

[5:03:44] receipts match up at the end of the day.

[5:03:47] was one of the first lessons I've

[5:03:48] learned on my first job. And uh so uh

[5:03:53] it's we don't have to invent these ways

[5:03:55] controls. They've existed for literally

[5:03:58] generations. It's just that we need to

[5:04:01] put the old school controls in place

[5:04:03] where cash is accepted which is legal

[5:04:05] tender um um appropriate to um for all

[5:04:09] debts.

[5:04:12] » Ian, thanks Mike. Um, yeah, I like the

[5:04:15] way Mike summed it up there. And then I

[5:04:17] would just go so far as to say like I

[5:04:20] think there should be at least one point

[5:04:22] in every school where someone could put

[5:04:25] cash on their account.

[5:04:28] >> Um,

[5:04:30] >> oh, say they're going to Mary,

[5:04:31] >> right? Yeah. Like, you know, maybe

[5:04:35] a principal's office,

[5:04:36] >> right? So, maybe we can look at

[5:04:37] something like that. But I also don't

[5:04:39] want to lose sight of the forest for the

[5:04:41] trees or wherever this how the saying

[5:04:43] goes. Um

[5:04:46] what is the barrier between us and

[5:04:49] getting

[5:04:50] um universal coverage for food across

[5:04:53] the full district?

[5:04:55] You said it was a state thing.

[5:04:57] >> 60% free and reduced lunch and SNAP

[5:04:59] benefits at a certain percent. And we

[5:05:01] have a thousand kids who are military

[5:05:03] will never get a SNAP benefit because

[5:05:04] they get tryare.

[5:05:05] >> Okay. So how do we solve that problem?

[5:05:07] So, I talked to the reps. I mean, it's I

[5:05:11] feel like that's an injustice.

[5:05:13] >> Yeah.

[5:05:15] >> So, how can we solve that problem?

[5:05:18] >> I guess legislatively.

[5:05:20] >> Yeah.

[5:05:21] >> So, when can we get our legislators

[5:05:22] here?

[5:05:23] >> Come to December.

[5:05:24] >> Oh, after the election.

[5:05:25] >> After the election,

[5:05:26] >> of course.

[5:05:27] >> Okay.

[5:05:28] >> Why would they come?

[5:05:30] >> Why are you saying it like that?

[5:05:31] >> I don't know.

[5:05:32] >> Why do you say like that?

[5:05:34] >> Tired. If they don't get elected, then

[5:05:36] they don't not going to do us any good.

[5:05:38] Coming in October, then they don't get

[5:05:40] elected. Then

[5:05:42] >> I look forward to talking in in

[5:05:44] December.

[5:05:45] >> Um I hope they all show up this time.

[5:05:49] >> They hope you show up too

[5:05:51] >> in person.

[5:05:54] >> You got your hand up

[5:05:56] by state law.

[5:05:57] >> Yeah. I just want to mention a couple

[5:05:59] years ago I brought this up with our

[5:06:00] state legisl

[5:06:03] and I was immediately shot down by a

[5:06:06] representative at the time who said this

[5:06:09] is not a state issue. Um this is a

[5:06:11] federal issue. Um

[5:06:14] that they're the ones um they make the

[5:06:18] decision which always confused me

[5:06:20] because I thought um that um

[5:06:27] uh SNAP

[5:06:28] uh you know is a state program but I

[5:06:30] guess it's under the jurisdiction of the

[5:06:32] federal government. So, I just think we

[5:06:34] need to dig into that a little more.

[5:06:36] >> Yeah, maybe Courtney

[5:06:38] >> can help.

[5:06:39] >> Yeah, because our our rec said there was

[5:06:41] nothing they could do with state.

[5:06:44] >> Well, maybe you can uh contact

[5:06:46] Congressman Courtney. He was not here

[5:06:48] today. We could ask him about that and

[5:06:51] uh find out is that a federal or state

[5:06:54] or

[5:06:55] >> Well, could we do that in writing so

[5:06:57] that we can have a communication that's

[5:06:58] officially coming back from their office

[5:07:00] that we could share around and get some

[5:07:01] more clarification? Yeah.

[5:07:03] >> So they can like give us chapter and

[5:07:04] verse citations. So like what laws are

[5:07:07] preventing this and then we get after it

[5:07:09] that way.

[5:07:11] >> I have shared this problem with him

[5:07:12] before.

[5:07:13] >> Yeah,

[5:07:14] >> there's a problem.

[5:07:15] >> If he he wants if if you if you email

[5:07:18] him, can you email him and then CC the

[5:07:21] board on his response? So we know where

[5:07:24] to target as far as like if there's a

[5:07:26] policy that's preventing this or laws

[5:07:28] that's that that's undue barrier, undue

[5:07:31] burden, then let's target those things

[5:07:33] and knock them down,

[5:07:35] >> right?

[5:07:36] >> And then we know where to

[5:07:37] >> and then that's that's the most

[5:07:38] equitable way to deal with it like you

[5:07:40] know like pay for everybody,

[5:07:42] >> you know, like and then cashless is out

[5:07:44] the window. We don't have to worry about

[5:07:45] that,

[5:07:46] >> right?

[5:07:48] >> Okay, it says at 10, so I'm just going

[5:07:50] to move on so we can get out of here.

[5:07:53] letter is communications and comments by

[5:07:55] board members.

[5:07:55] >> Is there any I mean on that discussion

[5:07:58] is there any

[5:07:59] >> So this is the second time we've

[5:08:00] discussed it now. Is there any

[5:08:02] >> what's the actionary plan?

[5:08:04] >> We thought they were going to put a cash

[5:08:06] out a pitch

[5:08:07] >> and I I like Eden's suggestion on uh the

[5:08:11] schools taking cash

[5:08:16] whether it's at the register or not.

[5:08:19] line or not. I don't think it matters.

[5:08:20] >> That doesn't matter.

[5:08:24] » Wait, wait, wait, wait. We're all

[5:08:25] talking at the same time, so we can't

[5:08:28] have that.

[5:08:30] >> So, who's talking first? You, Adrian.

[5:08:33] >> First, Susan, why don't you um based on

[5:08:35] all of our comments?

[5:08:37] >> Oh,

[5:08:37] >> Adrien, go ahead.

[5:08:39] >> I would just like to see what the we

[5:08:40] could we could do this with the scene.

[5:08:42] what the general board support is for

[5:08:43] accepting cash at all locations in some

[5:08:46] form or another.

[5:08:49] >> There's six of us here. We can vote,

[5:08:51] right?

[5:08:51] >> Whether you get Jay and Dr. A or I

[5:08:54] >> Yeah.

[5:08:56] >> So, yeah, seven.

[5:08:57] >> Sorry, Beverly. I didn't hear that.

[5:08:59] >> Um Oh, seven. Go ahead, Adrian. So, I I would propose that we accept cash at

[5:09:05] all locations, at all schools, um so

[5:09:08] that we don't um miss some families

[5:09:11] where it might be a hardship. Um and

[5:09:13] then if we want to accept it at a

[5:09:15] register at Fish, that's probably like a

[5:09:18] good

[5:09:19] >> You don't really need it at the C

[5:09:21] schools except for maybe the cart line

[5:09:24] for GMS.

[5:09:26] >> Yeah. So,

[5:09:27] >> I

[5:09:29] heard that. I didn't hear what you said.

[5:09:30] I didn't say anything yet.

[5:09:32] >> Yeah. So, well, that's that's a good

[5:09:34] point at this at the C schools if there

[5:09:36] is no no one's paying for lunch. So,

[5:09:38] we're just talking about lunch, not the

[5:09:40] cashless thing in general because the

[5:09:42] cashless thing in general is

[5:09:44] >> Well, we just started with the lunch.

[5:09:45] >> Slightly big slightly bigger than this,

[5:09:47] but just talking about lunch. So, at all

[5:09:50] locations where you have to pay for

[5:09:52] food,

[5:09:54] >> one cash register.

[5:09:55] >> Yeah. So, northeast accepting cash. I

[5:09:58] mean, maybe they have a a cash box. the

[5:10:00] cash register.

[5:10:02] You're going to have to have receipts.

[5:10:04] So, you can't What are you going to do

[5:10:06] in a little box? Who's going to write

[5:10:07] the receipts?

[5:10:10] I'm assuming the cash registers have

[5:10:12] receipts.

[5:10:13] >> Yeah. Have to figure it out, Ernie.

[5:10:14] >> Yeah.

[5:10:16] >> It goes into his system and then that's

[5:10:18] how he gets his record and then they

[5:10:19] have to compare it to when they bring it

[5:10:21] to the bank.

[5:10:21] >> Yeah.

[5:10:23] >> There's always ways, you know, you could

[5:10:25] be on the cash register and somebody

[5:10:28] could give you No, that's

[5:10:30] >> $10. And you don't have to put in

[5:10:32] >> No, that's why they That's why when

[5:10:35] you're at a store, they always ask you,

[5:10:38] "Do you want your receipt?"

[5:10:39] >> Yeah.

[5:10:40] >> That's why they ask cuz they need to

[5:10:43] input that transaction.

[5:10:45] >> And then whether you accept the receipt

[5:10:47] or not, it's part of the system. So

[5:10:49] that's why they ask. If you have a place

[5:10:52] that doesn't ask you

[5:10:54] >> if you want a receipt, you could be

[5:10:56] thinking the way you're thinking.

[5:10:58] ways to save money. And it doesn't have

[5:11:01] to be a million dollars. You could be taking $10 here, $10 there,

[5:11:07] but still that's that's fraud.

[5:11:10] >> Doesn't matter the amount. It's still

[5:11:12] fraud. So,

[5:11:13] >> yeah.

[5:11:16] >> All right. You have that.

[5:11:17] >> So, we landed on something.

[5:11:19] >> Yes.

[5:11:20] >> Do we have board support for that?

[5:11:22] >> Mike, do you have your hand up again?

[5:11:26] >> Yeah. It's just uh clarifying which

[5:11:28] locations would would this be? Obviously

[5:11:30] Fish

[5:11:31] >> Charles

[5:11:33] >> and Charles.

[5:11:34] >> Yeah.

[5:11:35] >> And then and then there's no option at

[5:11:38] um GMS.

[5:11:40] >> Yeah. Once a week

[5:11:43] >> they can.

[5:11:43] >> So we need it there too.

[5:11:45] >> Yeah. We need it there. So we need at

[5:11:47] Fitch and we need it at uh GMS a cash

[5:11:51] register.

[5:11:53] >> Yep. But then still accept

[5:11:55] >> but still accept cash. The people could

[5:11:57] still pay pay by cash but come to the

[5:12:00] principal's office and I guess and give

[5:12:02] it to the secretary. That still could be

[5:12:04] floor but

[5:12:05] >> well I don't know that they don't have I

[5:12:07] have to find out do they have a cash

[5:12:08] register

[5:12:11] >> um

[5:12:12] >> well it was the last year

[5:12:14] >> had they accept cash flows here.

[5:12:16] >> I don't know even how much cash they

[5:12:18] collected. I'll have to find out.

[5:12:20] >> What about Mary Morris?

[5:12:23] Do they pay for lunch there?

[5:12:24] >> The well food service is right there. So

[5:12:28] they can bring the cash into Mary

[5:12:29] Morrison if they have cash.

[5:12:31] >> So we'd be accepting cashb

[5:12:35] GMS and

[5:12:41] » I'm good with that.

[5:12:43] >> I am.

[5:12:45] >> That's two.

[5:12:48] » That's three.

[5:12:51] Mike Whitney's hand.

[5:12:52] >> Mike Knight.

[5:12:55] >> Yeah, I'm good with that. And I I do

[5:12:57] acknowledge that actually the elementary

[5:12:58] school might not have that register.

[5:13:02] >> I'll find out. [laughter]

[5:13:08] » Um, Andrea, you good with that?

[5:13:11] >> Yes.

[5:13:12] >> Okay. Jay,

[5:13:16] » yes.

[5:13:17] >> Okay, there you go. All right. Next

[5:13:21] letters, communication, comments by

[5:13:22] board members

[5:13:24] and uh and any other items in their

[5:13:27] jurisdiction. I got a letter from CA

[5:13:30] saying thank you for becoming a member

[5:13:32] of CABE

[5:13:34] because we joined CA last year. So they

[5:13:38] sent us a me a thank you note. Thank you

[5:13:41] for public school boards that education

[5:13:44] decision to continue the CA membership

[5:13:46] and then they talk about everything that

[5:13:48] Cape offers.

[5:13:50] Um also if you're going to go to the

[5:13:53] Cape um conference, please let um Joyce

[5:13:57] know and if you sign up, please go

[5:14:00] because that's wasting money if you sign

[5:14:02] up and you don't go and we can't find

[5:14:05] somebody to replace you. So, um, please,

[5:14:08] if you're going to go, let Joyce know.

[5:14:11] If you think you can't go, don't sign

[5:14:12] up.

[5:14:15] And that's about it. And then Cave is

[5:14:17] having a delegate assembly. Did you all

[5:14:18] get one of these?

[5:14:20] >> I have it in the packet.

[5:14:21] >> Oh, you have it? Okay. So, one meeting,

[5:14:23] we should talk about um they like us to

[5:14:26] talk about the resolutions. If you see

[5:14:29] anything in this handout that you think

[5:14:33] um

[5:14:34] should be addressed at the delegate

[5:14:36] assembly and if anybody I usually go to

[5:14:39] the delegate assembly if anybody else

[5:14:41] wants to go I think there's two of us

[5:14:43] that can go. Last year, Jen and I went,

[5:14:46] so just let me know. And then we decide

[5:14:50] if there's more than one person that

[5:14:52] wants to go, we'll decide who goes.

[5:14:56] >> And you have the advanced planning

[5:14:58] dates.

[5:14:59] >> Okay. What is in communications?

[5:15:01] >> Yeah. Go ahead.

[5:15:02] >> Yeah. I I just wanted to um

[5:15:06] ask for a referral or I want to propose

[5:15:08] a referral to the policy committee to

[5:15:10] develop a policy on um participation

[5:15:13] executive session. Uh I think um it is

[5:15:18] allowable by state law for people to

[5:15:22] participate remotely in any meeting.

[5:15:24] It's not there's no exclusion for

[5:15:26] executive sessions. But I think we

[5:15:28] should make it clear that our policy is

[5:15:30] that anyone can participate in executive

[5:15:32] session as a member of the body whether

[5:15:35] they're remote or on site.

[5:15:38] >> I support that.

[5:15:45] Um,

[5:15:46] Andrea,

[5:15:49] >> I don't I'm not sure that I really

[5:15:50] understand that this is an executive

[5:15:53] session that we're speaking about and

[5:15:55] yet we don't know who's in the room, who

[5:15:58] isn't on it, on the board. That's not an

[5:16:02] executive session.

[5:16:03] >> I'm asking for

[5:16:04] >> we have to be here.

[5:16:05] >> I'm just asking for a referral to make

[5:16:07] it a policy for them to develop

[5:16:09] something and then it could be voted on.

[5:16:14] No. I'm not in favor of that. And I

[5:16:17] talked to other people and they think

[5:16:19] that if it's an executive session, you

[5:16:22] should be everybody should be present.

[5:16:24] That's why it's an executive session.

[5:16:26] But you know that's when I speak to

[5:16:29] other people. That's what they say.

[5:16:31] >> The law is the law. The law doesn't have

[5:16:32] any carbon.

[5:16:33] >> Yeah. But the law is the law. But we can

[5:16:35] have our own policy, too.

[5:16:37] >> All right. So, is it going to go to

[5:16:39] policy or not? Well, Mike, you have your

[5:16:43] hand up. Then Jen.

[5:16:44] >> Yeah, just I just say I mean I've looked

[5:16:47] a little bit. I couldn't find policy on

[5:16:49] it either way. So maybe we should put a

[5:16:52] policy in it either one way or the other

[5:16:55] or something in between.

[5:16:56] >> Yeah. Okay.

[5:16:59] >> I'm okay with it getting referred and

[5:17:02] having the policy committee research to

[5:17:05] see what what they should do. Um, but

[5:17:09] I'm okay with how it is now.

[5:17:14] >> I'll be good with the policy, but I

[5:17:16] would not vote for executive session to

[5:17:19] be people could be online on Zoom and uh you don't know what's going on in

[5:17:24] their house. You can't see behind them.

[5:17:27] So, I think uh but I'm okay with it

[5:17:29] going the policy, but I would not vote

[5:17:32] for executive session to be on Zoom. I'm

[5:17:36] gonna be voting for it to be in person.

[5:17:39] And that's how that's the way I feel.

[5:17:43] >> Jane, your take.

[5:17:50] » Jane?

[5:17:51] >> Yeah, I'm fine with having Yeah, I'm

[5:17:53] fine with a full board discussion and

[5:17:56] having a uh firm policy on this so that

[5:18:00] there's no uh question going forward.

[5:18:02] >> Yeah. And so we're Yeah. Yeah,

[5:18:05] >> I'm I'm in favor of that, too.

[5:18:07] >> I agree.

[5:18:09] >> Okay. But I'm not voting for it. If

[5:18:11] people say they want it to be on Zoom,

[5:18:14] I'm going to say right now,

[5:18:17] >> um,

[5:18:17] >> I agree with that, too.

[5:18:18] >> But it's good to have a policy so people

[5:18:20] don't go in the newspaper and talk about

[5:18:22] it. I didn't like that.

[5:18:24] >> So, our policy committees are completely

[5:18:26] online.

[5:18:30] » Oh, can I make a comment?

[5:18:32] >> Um, Dr. Acriman, as you're making the

[5:18:35] tables for the Martin Luther King, can

[5:18:38] you just make sure that we as a board

[5:18:40] are together? There was one year where

[5:18:42] Jay was separated out somewhere and I

[5:18:46] >> he was with us.

[5:18:47] >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. But I don't want to be

[5:18:48] that one board member that separated out

[5:18:51] in the future.

[5:18:52] >> I need to get you a check, Dr. Arian.

[5:18:55] I I I'm very glad that you brought that

[5:18:57] up, Jen, because that was my when we

[5:19:00] went to communications, that was going

[5:19:01] to be my communications. Oh, we have

[5:19:05] >> we have four pitch high school students

[5:19:07] who are being uh honored as Dr. Martin

[5:19:11] Luther King scholars and that's Akira

[5:19:14] Greger, Winter Davis, Robert Vergera,

[5:19:17] and Brandon Dian. So, we all need to be

[5:19:21] there as a board. So, and um this year

[5:19:26] things are are very different. So, I

[5:19:29] have I usually pass out the u the hard

[5:19:33] copy invitations, but of course, I

[5:19:35] haven't been able to attend the board

[5:19:37] meetings, but I can send you there's a

[5:19:40] link that you can

[5:19:43] sign up to. You can even you can go on

[5:19:46] the link and register and

[5:19:49] >> and I I'm not sure exactly because I

[5:19:51] haven't seen the link how you taste that

[5:19:56] you let me if you let me know that um if

[5:20:00] you let me know that you're going to

[5:20:01] come and you get me your check. I'll be

[5:20:04] happy to do it that way or when I send

[5:20:07] you that link tomorrow you can go and

[5:20:09] figure out how to do that. I already

[5:20:12] completed the link. So you can put me

[5:20:15] the link, Andrea, and I'll get it to

[5:20:17] everybody else.

[5:20:19] >> You have it, Susan.

[5:20:20] >> No, I get the link.

[5:20:21] >> I already completed the link, Dr.

[5:20:23] Aerman.

[5:20:24] >> No, no, Susan wants the link.

[5:20:26] >> Oh, Susan wants the link.

[5:20:27] >> And then I pass it to everybody else.

[5:20:30] >> I need to I need to get that set up.

[5:20:32] Okay.

[5:20:33] >> Sorry. I would appreciate the link.

[5:20:34] Thank you.

[5:20:35] >> Ian needs the link, but if you send it

[5:20:37] to Susan, she can send it to the board

[5:20:39] members.

[5:20:41] Beverly, didn't I send it to you?

[5:20:43] >> Uh,

[5:20:44] >> I must have got it somewhere.

[5:20:46] >> I don't know. I can check my email. I

[5:20:47] can't remember because I sent mine by

[5:20:50] mail. I got an invite in the mail. So, I

[5:20:52] just filled it out and sent it in.

[5:20:54] >> I see. I see.

[5:20:57] >> Let me see if I can get that link to

[5:20:59] every Well, I'll I'll send it to Susan

[5:21:01] and you're going to send it to

[5:21:03] everybody.

[5:21:03] >> I promise.

[5:21:05] >> Okay. Thank you so much.

[5:21:07] >> We all need to We all need to be there.

[5:21:09] These are fabulous individuals. And in

[5:21:12] fact, another there's another scholar

[5:21:14] whose mother uh I had at Finch Junior

[5:21:18] High School when she was there and um

[5:21:22] and now her son is a scholar.

[5:21:24] >> That's awesome.

[5:21:27] Adrian is not at high school as a

[5:21:30] scholar.

[5:21:31] >> Adrien.

[5:21:33] >> Yeah. Um All right. So, um I have a

[5:21:37] concern that um about AI. I think our

[5:21:41] district is really we've got an AI

[5:21:42] committee, but the A committee has done

[5:21:44] a survey that said everybody's concerned

[5:21:47] about AI just like we heard tonight. Um

[5:21:49] yet we still don't have almost a year

[5:21:51] later, we still don't have any kind of

[5:21:53] regulation or policy

[5:21:55] >> that I know of.

[5:21:56] >> Well, we have a policy that says the

[5:21:58] district will come up with something,

[5:22:00] right? Or the like they put it on the

[5:22:01] district to do something. And um like I

[5:22:05] know from my own children um some

[5:22:07] teachers are using AI to grade um

[5:22:10] written responses.

[5:22:12] Um some teachers most of the teachers

[5:22:14] are not. Some teachers have like blue

[5:22:16] book policies where the kids have to

[5:22:18] write in class on paper. Other PE

[5:22:20] teachers are allowing AI. And I I had

[5:22:23] some real concerns um that we're we're

[5:22:27] basically doing a test case, you know,

[5:22:29] just like Facebook was, right? Um on all

[5:22:32] of these kids without having any

[5:22:33] regulation. So, um, and and I the AI

[5:22:37] committee is meeting in another week and

[5:22:38] a half. Um, but at the rate that the AI

[5:22:41] committee is going to go, it's going to

[5:22:43] be another year and and and the rate

[5:22:46] actually AI is going, um, we may end up

[5:22:49] making a big mistake by letting by not

[5:22:51] having any kind of policies or

[5:22:53] regulations. So, um, what I would really

[5:22:55] like to see is just the administration

[5:22:57] put up a regulation that says no AI for,

[5:23:01] you know, kids under 10th grade and only

[5:23:03] limited AI in 11th and 12th grade and

[5:23:05] under certain guidelines or something

[5:23:07] like that. um something that makes

[5:23:09] sense, but at least some guidelines for

[5:23:11] staff and students on where AI is okay

[5:23:14] and where it isn't because I think it's

[5:23:15] the wild west and I I think that um we

[5:23:18] could be sitting on on on you know a big

[5:23:22] problem here in um in teaching our kids

[5:23:25] to write and critical thinking skills

[5:23:27] because I mean I use AI all the time in

[5:23:31] my job and it makes it easier but um I'm

[5:23:34] not really trying to learn things with

[5:23:36] my job. I mean, we're the kids are

[5:23:38] trying to learn and they need that

[5:23:39] critical thinking. So, um that's

[5:23:42] something that came up tonight. I I

[5:23:44] don't think that we can wait for the AI

[5:23:46] committee um because I imagine it's

[5:23:48] going to be next spring before something

[5:23:50] comes through if we just wait for the AI

[5:23:52] committee. Um so, I I would personally

[5:23:54] like to see the administration give us

[5:23:56] something in a couple of weeks. Maybe

[5:23:58] the AI committee's next meeting is to

[5:24:01] come up with some guidelines

[5:24:03] >> to do to come up with something concrete

[5:24:05] so we can implement it and have some

[5:24:08] rules.

[5:24:09] >> Um,

[5:24:09] >> can you email uh Susan? Can you email

[5:24:12] Clint and about Adrian's uh

[5:24:16] >> full support of that?

[5:24:18] >> I'm in full support of that

[5:24:19] >> for the AI committee to start.

[5:24:23] Um,

[5:24:23] >> how often do they meet?

[5:24:25] >> What's Susan? Um,

[5:24:29] it's either every other month, something

[5:24:31] like that. Okay.

[5:24:33] >> Well, they haven't met since the spring

[5:24:36] and the last meeting, I think, was

[5:24:37] canceled because it was in June, right

[5:24:39] close to the end of school. So,

[5:24:41] >> um, I think we just need to

[5:24:44] >> we can I think we should keep having the

[5:24:46] committee, but I think right now we need

[5:24:47] some rules.

[5:24:49] >> And even if they're wrong, at least

[5:24:50] there's something.

[5:24:51] >> Okay.

[5:24:52] >> Well, perhaps he'll put that on his

[5:24:53] agenda. Um, and then the second thing I

[5:24:56] wanted to bring up, um, to the board, I

[5:24:58] sent an email to the board about this,

[5:24:59] but the Charles Barnum roof,

[5:25:02] um, at this point, we need to ask the

[5:25:04] council for an extension,

[5:25:07] um, because it can't be done before the

[5:25:08] end of the school year and it won't be

[5:25:10] done by the end of June. Um, we kind of

[5:25:13] talked about this in finance and

[5:25:15] facilities, but um, I put together a

[5:25:18] tenative timeline thinking that if we

[5:25:21] ask the council, they need like a month

[5:25:23] or a month and a half to answer us,

[5:25:25] right?

[5:25:26] >> Meaning that we would need to vote on it

[5:25:28] in the board at the end of October

[5:25:32] to go forward and Sam needs to get a new

[5:25:35] quote prior to that from the architect.

[5:25:39] Um, so do we as a board want to do the

[5:25:42] roof next summer?

[5:25:44] Because if we do, I think we need to

[5:25:46] like light a fire under it and not end

[5:25:48] up in the same place we were last year,

[5:25:50] the year before, the year before.

[5:25:53] Because Sam said ideally we'd go to bid

[5:25:56] July uh January 15th, which means we'd

[5:25:58] have to have town council approval

[5:26:00] before that, which means we we need to

[5:26:03] have an estimate and board approval

[5:26:06] before that. Why why bid when is bid?

[5:26:10] January 5th.

[5:26:11] >> He said he said it should ideally go out

[5:26:12] January.

[5:26:13] >> Why can't you why can't we bid on it now

[5:26:16] on the

[5:26:16] >> because we need to so that this is what

[5:26:18] we were trying to figure out in the

[5:26:20] meeting. We need to have um a new

[5:26:23] estimate of the roof done. It was last

[5:26:26] estimated at a million dollars years

[5:26:28] ago.

[5:26:29] >> It's going to be more.

[5:26:30] >> Did he start that process?

[5:26:32] >> I mean when was your committee? Last

[5:26:34] week.

[5:26:34] >> Last week. Did he is he how where is he?

[5:26:37] >> He's not here. I can't ask him, but I'll

[5:26:39] ask him.

[5:26:40] >> But well, I think the more important

[5:26:42] thing is is that we need to make sure

[5:26:43] that we can meet that timeline.

[5:26:45] >> I mean, do you guys agree that vote vote

[5:26:49] as a board to ask for we have to ask for

[5:26:51] an extension either way and presumably

[5:26:53] it's going to cost for more money. We're

[5:26:54] going to have to ask for a little more

[5:26:56] money as well. that that ask should be

[5:26:58] the end of October to give the council

[5:27:01] November and then the first two weeks of

[5:27:03] December to give us an answer

[5:27:05] >> because we need to go out to bid for

[5:27:07] January. Then we have to come up with

[5:27:08] bid documents which probably be December

[5:27:11] and the first two weeks of January.

[5:27:14] >> That is a process. It takes time.

[5:27:16] >> Okay, we can put that on the agenda.

[5:27:18] >> We need to have something by by one

[5:27:20] month from now. Meaning we need to have

[5:27:23] that new estimate. I'll put anything

[5:27:26] else that I'm missing because I don't

[5:27:27] know what the process is.

[5:27:29] >> Yeah. Yeah. Like that time because we

[5:27:32] gave Sam I think you were there Susan,

[5:27:34] right? Like we we asked Sam to like do

[5:27:37] that on

[5:27:39] you know cuz when it went out this year,

[5:27:42] it was too late because all of the

[5:27:44] construction companies already had

[5:27:48] um businesses or or jobs lined up. So

[5:27:52] they weren't going to bid on our million

[5:27:54] dollar roof. So um and I know there was

[5:27:58] an approval process with the state too

[5:28:01] like we see work on that.

[5:28:03] >> Yeah, they did.

[5:28:04] >> So we just need to like be able to say

[5:28:08] um

[5:28:10] if I remember correctly, we have an

[5:28:13] architect on retainer.

[5:28:17] >> All right. I'll put it on the um October

[5:28:19] 19th agenda for discussion, not for a

[5:28:23] vote. Just for discussion and Ian, I'll

[5:28:26] put your dis uh purchasing the Franklin

[5:28:28] property on that same agenda for

[5:28:30] discussion, not for a vote. We discuss

[5:28:33] it and then you want to move it forward

[5:28:35] for an official vote, we could put it on

[5:28:37] the regular board meeting agenda on

[5:28:39] October 26. Sounds good. Okay.

[5:28:41] >> Thank you.

[5:28:42] >> Anytime.

[5:28:45] Uh Dr. Hey,

[5:28:47] >> your turn

[5:28:48] >> to adjurnn. Motion to adjourn.

[5:28:51] >> Right there with you. Second.

[5:28:52] >> Anybody need a chocolate on the way

[5:28:54] home? Otherwise, I'm bring the office.

[5:28:56] >> Do all those in favor of it?

[5:28:59] >> I I am Am I not allowed to say anything?

[5:29:04] >> You are, but we already

[5:29:06] >> we already have a motion to adjourn

[5:29:10] >> and a second. Who second it?

[5:29:13] >> Sorry, Jay.

[5:29:14] Can he have Don't we have

[5:29:17] discussion? We haven't voted on it yet.

[5:29:18] >> It could be retracted.

[5:29:20] >> Okay.

[5:29:22] >> Yeah. I mean, I've been pretty quiet.

[5:29:24] for six hours. I

[5:29:26] just like to say, you know, uh one or

[5:29:30] two things. Um I'm not happy about the

[5:29:32] meeting going this long either, but I I

[5:29:35] do think that some very critical issues

[5:29:37] were brought up tonight. And I think

[5:29:40] it's very clear that we've got some very

[5:29:43] difficult decisions to make. Um I agree

[5:29:46] with um Adrian uh that not having an AI

[5:29:52] policy um gets more dangerous by the

[5:29:55] day, especially the things that I'm

[5:29:57] hearing that are going on in the

[5:29:59] classroom.

[5:30:00] >> Um

[5:30:02] >> Jay, we have an AI policy. Jay,

[5:30:04] >> we don't we need the regulations.

[5:30:06] >> We have an AI policy.

[5:30:08] Remember with Matthew,

[5:30:10] >> the policy allows the sorts of things

[5:30:13] that we're hearing are happening in the

[5:30:15] classroom.

[5:30:17] >> I mean, I think that's why Adrian's

[5:30:19] asking for regulations

[5:30:22] >> to tighten up the regulation.

[5:30:25] >> I I am I am trying to emphasize that I

[5:30:29] agree that we need to take action with

[5:30:32] this. I am also very concerned about

[5:30:35] what's going on with robotics and how

[5:30:37] these students are being affected by a

[5:30:40] decision over which they had no control.

[5:30:43] >> Um, and I would very much like to hear

[5:30:47] um from the board attorney about how

[5:30:50] this settlement uh led to this. And I

[5:30:53] I'm very interested to see what was on

[5:30:55] the paper that the parent uh handed in terms of how much this is going to

[5:31:00] cost them. um just to go through the uh

[5:31:07] the change of the number. There were a

[5:31:09] lot of very disturbing things that came

[5:31:11] out tonight and um I I really think we

[5:31:15] need to take action. Thank you.

[5:31:20] » Anything else?

[5:31:26] » All right, going back to a motion to

[5:31:28] adjurnn. Do I have a motion to adjurnn?

[5:31:31] Motion tojourn.

[5:31:33] >> I'll second it again.

[5:31:35] >> Motion to adjourn by Andrea, second by

[5:31:38] Jen. It's 10:30. All those in favor of

[5:31:40] adjournment.

[5:31:43] Okay. Pass. Thanks.

9-28-26 Groton Board of Education Meeting

Transcript